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m      UNIVERSITY    LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

AT 

AMHERST 


F 

74 
C8 
W2 


CONCORD 


IN 


THE     COLONIAL    PERIOD 

■Being  a  i^isstotp 

OF    THE 

TOWN  OF  CONCORD,  MASSACHUSETTS 


FROM  THE  EARLIEST  SETTLEilENT  TO  THE  OVERTHROW  OF  THE 
ANDROS  GOVERNMENT 


1635—1689 


By  CHARLES  H.  WALCOTT 


WITH     MAP 


BOSTON 
ESTES    AND    LAURIAT 

1884 


975" 
M'58z 

(2  74  IV 


CopyrigJU,  1884, 
Bt  Charles  H.  Walcott. 


Slnidtrsita  ^tess: 
John  Wilson  and  Son,  Cambridge 


TO 

THE  PEOPLE  OF  CONCORD 

SCJjts  Stutig  of  tlje  larlg  Eimts 
IS    RESPECTFULLY    DEDICATED 

By  the  Author. 


"My  desire  is  that  no  mans   Spectacles  may  deceive  him,  so  as  to 

look  upon  these  things  either  as  bigger  or  lesser,  better  or  worser,  then 

they  are;  which  all  men  generally  are  apt  to  doe  at  things  at  so  great 

distance,  but  that  they  may  judge  of  them  as  indeed  they  are,  by  what 

truth  they  see  here  exprest  in  the  things  themselves." 

Thomas  Shepard. 


PREFACE. 


This  volume  is  the  result  of  the  labor  of  many 
months  spent  in  exploring  the  original  sources  of 
our  town's  early  history,  —  researches  made  in  the 
belief  that  a  re-examination  of  the  authorities,  con- 
ducted in  the  modern  spirit  of  historical  inquiry, 
would  develop  new  and  interesting  facts,  and  enable 
us  to  realize  more  fully  the  stern  but  conscientious 
self-denial,  persevering  industry,  and  sturdy  good 
sense  that  actuated  the  settlers  of  this  town. 

Constant  reference  has  been  had  to  Shattuck's 
History  of  Concord,  which  was  published  almost  fifty 
years  ago,  and  has  been  a  valuable  aid  in  the  prose- 
cution of  the  studies  which  led  to  the  preparation  of 
this  book. 

If  the  statements  and  inferences  herein  contained 
do  not  always  agree  with  those  of  the  earlier  work, 
the  reader  may  be  assured  that  the  difference  is  not 
due  to  neglect  of  the  considerations  which  led  Mr. 
Shattuck  to  the  results  stated  by  him,  but  is  more 
especially  to   be  attributed  to   the    greater   facility 


VI  PREFACE. 


with  which  records  and  documents  may  now  be 
consulted,  in  consequence  of  the  great  amount  of 
money,  labor,  and  thought,  that  have  been  devoted 
of  late  to  arranging,  copying,  printing,  and  indexing 
early  writings  of  a  historical  character  ;  so  that  the 
close  application  and  thought,  once  largely  exhausted 
in  deciphering  old  records  and  private  documents, 
may  now,  in  many  instances,  be  used  to  extract  the 
full  meaning  of  what  is  written,  and  to  determine 
its  exact  relations  to  information  obtained  from 
other  sources. 

In  almost  every  instance,  Mr.  Shattuck's  authori- 
ties have  been  consulted  anew  by  the  author  of  this 
volume ;  and  some  additional  sources  of  information 
have  been  drawn  upon,  which  the  elder  writer  seems 
not  to  have  discovered. 

The  extracts  and  ancient  documents  here  printed 
have  been  carefully  compared  with  the  originals 
whenever  the  latter  could  be  found,  but  it  will 
appear  that,  in  a  few  instances,  the  author  has  been 
unable  to  find  original  papers  to  which  Mr.  Shattuck 
undoubtedly  had  access.  Two  documents  are  for 
this  reason  reprinted  from  his  history,  without  being 
verified  by  the  present  author.  Extracts  from  the 
Records  of  the  Colony  (cited  under  their  printed 
title  of  "Massachusetts  Records")  are  taken  from 
the  printed  volumes. 

To  avoid  confusion,  it  should  be  borne  in  mind 
that  all  dates  before  1752  are  accordinii;  to  the  old 
style,  which  made  the  year  begin  on  the  25th  day 


PREFACE.  vil 


of  March.  The  months,  beginning  with  March, 
were  alluded  to,  as  also  were  the  days  of  the  week, 
by  numbers,  instead  of  by  names.  Thus,  April  20, 
1640,  would  be  indicated  as  20'^ :  2*^ :  40,  or  20'^ 
2mo  ]^g4Q  In  writing  dates  occurring  between 
January  1st  and  March  25th,  sometimes  the  double 
date  is  given  ;  but,  otherwise,  it  is  to  be  understood 
that  the  later  year,  beginning  in  January,  is  re- 
tained. For  instance,  March  12,  169|  may  be 
found  written,  March  12,  1696  ;  and  8^^  12^«  1664 
would  appear  as  February  8,  1665. 

Of  the  two  oldest  record  books  of  the  town,  which 
together,  as  copied  by  Mr.  David  Pulsifer,  are  now 
comprised  in  Volume  I.  of  the  "Ancient  Records  of 
Concord,"  the  earlier, — which,  in  all  probability, 
was  procured  in  1653,  soon  after  the  division  of  the 
town  into  Quarters,  —  contains  records  of  grants  and 
divisions  of  land,  voted  by  the  company  of  the  South 
Quarter.  There  are  also  brief  lists,  descriptive  of 
the  first-division  lands,  and,  to  a  limited  extent, 
the  second-division  lands,  owned  by  dwellers  in  the 
South  (or  West)  Quarter.  Written  at  the  top  of  a 
page  is  the  following  declaration  of  the  purpose  for 
which  the  book  was  intended :  — 


"The  Records  of  this  booke  of  the  weast  qiiartter  one  the 
south  syde  of  the  mill  brooke,  concernes  second  devisions  as  up- 
land, second  devisione  meadow,  &  woodland,  acordinge  to  mens 
seuerall  ;pportions  &  alowances  that  is  due  to  them,  aproved 
&  alowed  off,  by  the  whoUe  company  as  is  expresed  in  the  sev- 
erall  pages  followinge." 


vm  PREFACE. 


This  old  book  also  contains  records  of  ways  laid 
out  in  the  South  Quarter,  rates  made  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  building  bridges  and  highways,  and 
accounts  of  the  labor  done  or  furnished  in  fur- 
therance of  these  public  works.  The  latest  date 
is  1724. 

It  cannot  be  doubted  that  there  once  was  a  town 
book,  which  contained  the  records  of  the  earliest 
grants  of  land,  and,  probably,  the  other  proceedings 
of  the  inhabitants,  meeting  together  in  general  as- 
sembly. A  book  of  this  character  is  referred  to  in 
ancient  deeds  and  other  documents,  as  well  as  in  the 
records  that  remain  to  us,  and  is  designated  as  "  the 
old  towne  booke  of  Concord,"  or  the  "town's  regis- 
ter booke." 

This  volume  was  extant  in  1664,  when  it  was  de- 
cided to  have  a  new  book,  and  to  copy  into  it  "  what 
is  in  the  old  booke,  that  is  vesefull."  The  "new 
book "  then  obtained  is  in  the  office  of  the  town 
clerk,  and  forms  the  second  half  of  the  first  volume 
of  "  Ancient  Records,"  as  copied.  It  contains,  under 
date  of  "  5.  of  12  :  m?  1635,"  (February  5,  1636),  the 
entry  concerning  the  location  of  the  meeting-house, 
which,  of  course,  was  copied  from  something  earlier. 
This  book  contains  records  of  grants  of  lands  and 
the  laying  out  of  ways,  beginning  with  1653  and 
extending  to  1804.  There  are,  also,  a  few  deeds, 
leases,  and  agreements  concerning  the  division  or 
fencing  of  lands,  and  a  few  of  the  East  Quarter 
records  are  here  preserved. 


PREFACE.  IX 


These  early  books  of  the  town's  records  have  been 
constantly  referred  to  and  studied  in  the  prepar- 
ation of  this  work.  They  are  not  expressly  cited, 
except  in  a  few  instances,  because  it  was  thought 
better  to  allude  generally,  once  for  all,  to  an  au- 
thority which,  if  referred  to  in  every  instance,  would 
appear  on  almost  every  page  of  this  book. 

It  has  been  deemed  wise  to  present  the  thoughts 
and  acts  of  the  men  who  lived  in  the  times  here 
treated  of,  to  a  considerable  extent  in  their  own  lan- 
guage ;  and,  with  this  in  mind,  many  extracts  from 
original  records  and  documents  have  been  included, 
in  the  printing  of  which  the  utmost  care  has  been 
exercised  to  reproduce  the  original  as  closely  as  pos- 
sible. These  extracts  should  be  read  without  regard 
to  spelling  or  punctuation,  both  of  which,  judged 
by  our  standards,  are  as  bad  as  they  could  well  be ; 
but  these  are  only  slight  obstructions,  after  all,  to 
one  who  carefully  seeks  for  the  meaning  of  what 
is  written. 

The  subject  is  in  its  nature  local,  and  the  larger 
history  of  the  colony  has  been  treated  of  only  when 
it  was  found  to  be  closely  connected  with  that  of  the 
town,  or  when  reference  to  it  was  deemed  necessary 
for  a  more  complete  understanding  of  the  position 
and  relations  of  the  town  and  its  people  to  the  world 
without.  The  author  cannot  flatter  himself  with  the 
expectation  that  his  work  will  be  found  free  from 
errors,  or  that,  in  weighing  men  and  events  of  two 
centuries  and  a  half  ago,  his  readers  will  always  take 


PREFACE. 


the  same  point  of  view,  or  draw  the  same  inferences, 
as  are  here  presented.  Earnest  efforts  have  been 
made  to  present  the  facts  accurately,  to  distinguish 
between  knowledge  and  inferences,  —  in  short,  to 
present  the  subject  in  the  light  of  truth,  without 
exaggeration  or  suppression  of  any  facts  of  public 
interest. 


Concord,  April,  1884. 


LIST   OF  AUTHORITIES   CITED. 


Acts  and  Resolves,  Public  and  Private,  of  the  Province  of  the 
Massachusetts-Bay. 

Billerica  Town  Records. 

Bond's  (Henr}')  Genealogies  and  Histor}-  of  Watertown. 

Butler's  (Caleb)  History  of  Groton,  Mass. 

Concord  Town  Records. 

Drake's  (Samuel  A.)  History  of  Middlesex  County. 

Emerson's  (Ralph  W.)  Historical  Discourse  in  1835. 

Foster's  (Edmund)  Littleton  Century  Sermon.     18L5. 

Gookin's  (Daniel)  Historical  Account  of  the  Doings  and  Suf- 
ferings of  the  Christian  Indians.  Reprinted  in  vol.  ii.  423- 
534,  of  the  Transactions  and  Collections  of  the  American 
Antiquarian  Society. 

Hazen's  (Henry  A.)  History  of  Billerica,  Mass. 

Hotten's  Lists  of  Emigrants  to  America. 

Hubbard's  (William)  Narrative  of  the  Indian  Wars  in  New 
England,  1677. 

Hutchinson's  (Thomas)  History  of  Massachusetts,  1628-1750. 

Johnson's  (Edward)  Wonderworking  Providence  of  Sion's 
Saviour  in  New  England,  1654.  Reprinted  in  the  Collec- 
tions of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  2d  series,  ii. 
49,  et  seq. 

Lechford's  (Thomas)  Plain  Dealing :  or  Newes  from  New  Eng- 
land, 1642.  Reprinted  in  the  Collections  of  the  Massachu- 
setts Historical  Society,  3d  series,  vol.  iii. 

Liberties  of  the  Massachusetts  Colonj-  in  New  England,  The, 
1641.  Reprinted  in  the  Collections  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society,  3d  series,  viii.  191-237. 


XU  LIST  OF  AUTHORITIES   CITED. 


Manuscript  Records  of  the  General  Court  preseived  in  the  State 

Archives. 
Massachusetts  Hecords. 

Mather's  (Cotton)  Magnalia  Christi  Americana,  1702. 
Memorial  History  of  Boston. 
Middlesex  County  Court,  Records  and  Files. 
Middlesex  Records  of  Deeds. 
Palfrey's  (John  G.)  History  of  New  England. 
Riplej^'s  (Ezra)  Half-century  Sermon,  1828. 
Savage's    (James)    Genealogical   Dictionary  of  New  England. 
Gleanings  for  New  England  History.     Printed  in  the 

Collections   of    the    Massachusetts    Historical    Societ}',    3d 

Series,  viii.  243,  et  seq. 
Sewall's    (Samuel)   Diar3^      Printed  in  the  Collections  of  the 

Massachusetts  Historical  Societ}',  5th  series,  vol.  v. 
Shattuck's  (Lemuel)  History  of  Concord,  Mass.,  1835. 
Shattuck's    (Lemuel)  Papers  preserved  in  the   Library  of  the 

New  England  Historic  Genealogical  Society. 
Shepard's    (Thomas)    Cleare   Sunshine   of  the   Gospell,    1648. 

Reprinted  in  the  Collections  of  the  Massachusetts  Historical 

Society,  3d  series,  v.  25-67. 
Suffolk  Probate  Records. 
Suffolk  Records  of  Deeds. 
"Wheeler's    (Thomas)   Narrative   of  an   Expedition  with   Capt. 

Edward  Hutchinson  into  the  Nipmuck  Country,  and  to  Qua- 

baog,    now  Brookficld,    Mass.,    1675.      Reprinted   in   New 

Hampshire  Historical  Collections,  ii.  5. 
Winthrop's  (John)  History  of  New  England  from  1630  to  1649 

(Savage's  ed.),  1853. 


TABLE   OF  COI^TEl^TS. 


Page 
List  of  Authorities  Cited xi 


CHAPTER   I. 

The  Planters  and  the  Plantation.  —  Map  of  the  Original 
Grant  and  Blood's  Farms.  —  Purchase  from  the  Indi- 
ans. —  First  Meeting-house.  —  The  Church.  —  Town 
Officers.  —  Case  of  Ambrose  Martin.  — John  Hoar  and 
Philip  Read 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

Early  Trials.  —  Withdrawal  of  Mr.  Jones.  —  Loss  of  the 
Leaders.  —  Rev.  Peter  Culkele^',  Simon  Willard,  Thomas 
Flint.— The  Kentish  Influence 33 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  New  Grant,  or  "  Concord  Village."  —  Blood's  Farms  .     49 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Second  Division  of  Lands. — Division  of  the  Town- 
ship into  Quarters.  —  Roads  and  Bridges.  —  Bulkele3''s 
Farm.  —  Fhnt's  Farm.  —  Other  Large  Allotments.  — 
Undivided  Lands.  —  Land  Transcripts.  —  Location  of 
House-lots.  —  Peter  Bulkele}^,  Esquire.  —  Second  Meet- 
ing-hquse.  —  Town  Pound.  —  Mills.  —  Burying-Grounds     67 


xiv  TABLE   OF   CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Page 
Relations  with  the  Indians.  —  King  Philip's  War.  —  Fight 
at  Brookfield.  —  Nashoba  Indians.  —  Constable   John 
He3'wood's  Return 100 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Militia.  —  Education.  —  Charities.  —  Mining  and  Man- 
ufactures. —  Public  Houses.  —  Amusements,  &c.  — 
Freemen.  —  The  Andros  Revolution 120 


INDEX 155 


CONCORD 


IN 


THE    COLONIAL    PERIOD. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

"  Beneath  low  hills,  in  the  broad  interval 
Through  which  at  will  our  Indian  rivulet 
Winds  mindful  still  of  sannup  and  of  squaw, 
Whose  pipe  and  arrow  oft  the  plough  unburies,  — 
Here  in  pine  houses  built  of  new-fallen  trees, 
Supplanters  of  the  tribe,  the  farmers  dwell." 

Emerson. 

The  Planters  and  the  Plantation.  — Map  of  the  Oeiginal 
Grant  and  Blood's  Farms.  —  Purchase  from  the  Indi- 
ans. —  First  Meeting-house.  —  The  Church.  —  Case  of 
Ambrose  Martin. 

The  plantation  at  Musketaquid  was  settled  by  Rev. 
Peter  Bulkeley,  of  Odell  in  England,  associated  with 
Simon  Willard,  a  merchant,  of  Horsmonden,  who 
brought  with  them  about  twelve  families. 

Mr.  Bulkele}^,  then  fifty-two  years  of  age,  em- 
barked at  London,  May  9,  1635,  in  the  ship  "  Susan 
and  Ellen,"  accompanied  by  William  Buttrick  and 
Thomas  Brooke.  Mrs.  Bulkeley  sailed  two  days 
before,  in  the  "Elizabeth  and  Ann,"  under  the  escort 
of  Thomas  Dane  j  ^  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that 

1  Savage'3  "  Gleanings; "  Hotten,  pp.  76,  77. 
1 


2  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

by  the  temporary  separation  of  husband  and  wife, 
the  orders  prohibiting  the  departure  of  clergymen 
and  "  subsidy  men  "  were  more  easily  evaded.^ 

James  Hosmer  was  provided  with  a  certificate 
from  the  minister  of  Hawkhurst,  in  Kent,  and  the 
attestation  of  two  justices  of  the  peace  that  he 
and  his  family  were  "  conformable  to  the  Church  of 
England,"  and  were  "  no  subsidy  men."  ^  Both  Mr. 
Bulkeley  and  Thomas  Flint  had  sufficient  property 
to  bring  them  within  the  degree  of  "  subsidy  men," 
and  therefore  it  may  be  supposed  that  their  depart- 
ure was  achieved  by  obtaining  a  special  license,  or 
through  the  connivance  of  the  authorities ;  but  the 
rest  of  the  Concord  company  were  plain  people,  of 
humble  station  in  England,  and  of  small  means, 
who  hoped  in  the  New  World  to  better  their  con- 
dition, and  to  enjoy  unmolested  the  simpler  forms  of 
religious  worship  that  their  tastes  and  consciences 
approved. 

There  was,  however,  no  transplanting  of  a  church 
and  its  pastor,  —  like  the  removal  of  John  Eobinson 
and  his  flock  to  Holland,  or  like  the  settlements  at 
Plymouth  and  Dorchester.  Few,  and  possibly  none, 
of  Mr.  Bulkeley' s  parishioners,  except  his  own  family, 

^  The  order  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  for  the  Colonies,  passed 
in  December,  1634:,  forbade  the  emigration  of  all  persons  of  the  degree 
of  a  "subsidy  man"  without  a  special  license,  and  of  all  persons 
beneath  that  degree  without  evidence  of  their  having  taken  the  oaths 
of  supremacy  and  allegiance,  and  of  their  confoi'mity  to  the  orders  of 
discipline  of  the  Church  of  England.     Palfrey,  i.  396. 

2  Hotten,  p.  53. 


CONCORD  m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  3 

followed  him  across  the  sea ;  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  suppose  that  the  Concord  settlers  ever  came  to- 
gether on  English  soil.  The  church  was  not  gathered 
until  the  summer  following  the  actual  settlement 
of  the  town,  nor  was  its  organization  completed 
until  the  ordination  of  the  elders  in  the  spring  of 
1637.  The  homes  of  the  pioneers  were,  moreover, 
widely  separated.  Mr.  Bulkeley  lived  in  Bedford- 
shire ;  Simon  Willard,  James  Hosmer,  and  probably 
William  Buss  and  Thomas  Dane,  were  from  Kent; 
John  Heald  came  from  Berwick  in  Northumber- 
land ;  William  Hunt  and  Jonathan  Mitchell  had 
their  homes  in  Yorkshire  ;  William  Buttrick  came 
from  Kingston-on-Thames,  in  Surrey;  Derbyshire 
was  represented  by  Thomas  Flint,  and  probably 
William  Wood.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  other  parts 
of  England  supplied  their  contingents  to  the  little 
band  who,  after  many  struggles  and  with  the  aid  of 
a  compass,  succeeded  in  pushing  through  the  wilder- 
ness that  then  bounded  Watertown  on  the  northwest, 
and  arrived  at  their  new  home  in  the  fall  of  1635. 

The  following  extracts  from  Johnson's  work,  writ- 
ten ten  or  fifteen  years  later,  are  interesting,  although 
coming  from  a  writer  whose  imagination  sometimes 
lends  too  strong  a  coloring  to  his  facts :  — 

"Upon  some  inquiiy  of  the  Indians,  who  lived  to  the  North 
"West  of  the  Bay,  one  Captaine  Simon  "Willard,  being  acquainted 
with  them  by  reason  of  his  trade,  became  a  chiefe  instrument 
in  erecting  this  towne.  The  land  thej^  purchase  of  the  Indians  ; 
and  with  much  difficulties  travelling  through  unknowne  woods, 
and  through  watery  swamps,  thej'  discover  the  fitnesse  of  the 


4  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

place,  —  sometimes  passing  through  the  thickets,  where  their 
hands  are  forced  to  make  way  for  their  bodies  passage,  and 
their  feete  clambering  over  the  crossed  trees,  which  when  they 
missed  the}-  sunke  into  an  uncertaine  bottome  in  water,  and  wade 
up  to  their  knees,  tumbling  sometimes  higher  and  sometimes 
lower.  Wearied  with  this  toile,  the}-  at  end  of  this  meete  with  a 
scorching  plaine ;  3'et  not  so  plaine  but  that  the  ragged  bushes 
scratch  their  legs  foul}',  even  to  wearing  their  stockings  to  their 
bare  skin  in  two  or  three  hours.  If  the}-  be  not  otherwise  well 
defended  with  bootes  or  buskings,  their  flesh  will  be  torne,  that 
some  being  forced  to  passe  on  without  further  provision,  have 
had  the  bloud  trickle  downe  at  every  step  ;  and  in  time  of  sum- 
mer the  sun  casts  such  a  reflecting  heate  from  the  sweet  ferns, 
whose  scent  is  very  strong,  so  that  some  herewith  have  beene 
very  nere  fainting,  although  very  able  bodies  to  undergoe  much 
travell,  and  this  not  to  be  indured  for  one  day,  but  for  many ; 
and  verily  did  not  the  Lord  incourage  their  natural  parts  (with 
hopes  of  a  new  and  strange  discovery,  expecting  every  houre  to 
see  some  rare  sight  never  seen  before),  they  were  never  able 
to  hold  out  and  breake  through.   .  .  . 

"  Their  further  hardship  is  to  travell  sometimes  they  know  not 
whether,  bewildred  indeed  without  sight  of  sun  ;  their  compasse 
miscarrying  in  crowding  through  the  bushes,  they  sadly  search 
up  and  down  for  a  known  way,  the  Indian  paths  being  not  above 
one  foot  broad,  so  that  a  man  may  travell  many  dayes  and  never 
find  one.  .  .  . 

"  This  intricate  worke  no  whit  daunted  these  resolved  servants 
of  Christ  to  go  on  with  the  worke  in  hand  ;  but  lying  in  the  open 
aire,  while  the  watery  clouds  poure  down  all  the  night  season, 
and  sometimes  the  driving  snow  dissolving  on  their  backs,  they 
keep  their  wet  cloathes  warme  with  a  continued  fire,  till  the 
renewed  morning  give  fresh  opportunity  of  further  traveU." 

Their  destination  was  the  "  six  miles  of  land 
square  "  granted  them  by  the  General  Court,  and 
to  be  laid  out  at  the  place  called  by  the  Indians 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  5 

'*'  Musketaquid,"  but  thenceforth  to  be  known  as 
Concord.  On  Sept.  2,  1635,  the  General  Court  passed 
the  following  order.' 

"It  is  ordered,  that  there  shalbe  a  plantacon  att  Muskete- 
quid,  &  that  there  shalbe  6  m^les  of  land  square  to  belong  to  it, 
&  that  the  inhabitants  thereof  shall  have  three  yeares  iinunities 
from  all  publ[ic]  charges,  except  traineings  ;  Further,  that  when 
any  that  plant  there  shall  have  occacon  of  carryeing  of  goods 
thither,  they  shall  repaire  to  two  of  the  nexte  magistrates  where 
the  teames  are,  whoe  shall  have  power  for  a  yeare  to  presse 
draughts,  att  reasonable  rates,  to  be  payde  by  the  owners  of  the 
goods,  to  transport  their  goods  thither  att  seasonable  tymes ; 
&  the  name  of  the  place  is  changed,  &  here  after  to  be  called 
Concord."^ 

There  is  no  plan  of  the  original  grant,  if,  indeed, 
such  a  plan  was  ever  made ;  nor  is  there  any  return 
of  the  laying  out  of  the  land,  such  as  was  usually 
prepared  and  filed.  We  do,  however,  know  that  it 
was  in  fact  laid  out,  and  bounds  set  at  the  corners, 
and  without  doubt  this  work  was  done  by  Simon 
Willard. 

The  author  is  not  aware  that  any  one  has  before 
attempted  to  construct  a  map  of  Concord  as  it  was 
in  the  beginning.  The  map  published  with  this  work 
is  the  result  of  a  comparison  of  maps,  plans,  and  old 
records,  supplemented  by  observations  made  on  the 

^  Mass.  Records,  i.  157. 

2  In  March  fcllowing  it  was  further  "  agreed,  that  the  imunitie  of 
Concord  for  three  yeares  shall  begin  the  first  of  October  nexte,  & 
that  none  shall  have  benefitt  thereof  but  those  that  lyve  there,  & 
with  respect  onely  to  the  stocke  they  have  there."  Mass.  Records,  i. 
167.  The  order  authorizing  the  impi-essment  of  carts  was  renewed 
Oct.  28,  1636,  for  a  year  longer.  — Ibid.,  182. 


6  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

ground.  It  has  been  carefully  drawn,  under  the 
author's  dh-ection,  by  Mr.  William  Wheeler  of  Con- 
cord, whose  assistance  has  been  invaluable  in  the 
application  of  tests  which  lie  peculiarly  within  the 
province  of  a  skilful  surveyor  and  draughtsman. 

Briefly,  the  sources  of  information  which  assist  us 
in  constructing  a  map  like  this  are  the  following  :  — 

Two  plans  by  Jonathan  Danforth,  dated,  respect- 
ively, 1660  *  and  1706,^  show  Billerica  land  on  both 
sides  of  the  Concord  River,  and  are  valuable  for  our 
purpose  as  showing  the  south  line  of  Billerica,  which 
was  identical  with  the  north  line  of  Concord,  except 
where  they  bounded  on  Blood's  Farms. 

A  plan  of  Bedford  made  in  1760  and  in  the  li- 
brary of  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Society  shows 
the  Billerica  line  east  of  the  river. 

Among  the  Shattuck  papers  is  a  somewhat  dilap- 
idated plan  of  Concord  Village,  which,  possibly,  is 
the  plan  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Shattuck  ^  as  having  been 
made  by  Captain  Stephen  Hosmer  in  1730.  This 
gives  us  the  western  boundary  of  the  original  grant, 
throughout  its  entire  length. 

In  the  State  archives  is  a  collection  of  plans  of 
the  several  towns  in  the  Commonwealth  made  in 
response  to  a  resolve  of  the  General  Court  passed  in 
1794,  and  another  more  elaborate  set  made  under 
similar  authority  in  1830.    Concord  in  1795  is  shown 

1  In  the  library  of  the  Mass.  Historical  Society. 

2  Mass.  Archives,  Ancient  Plans,  v.  i.  p.  191. 
8  History,  p.  280. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  7 

by  a  plan  drawn  from  actual  surveys  by  Epliraim 
Wood.  The  town  lines  were  then  the  same  as  at 
present.  The  survey  of  1830  was  made  by  John  G. 
Hales,  and  resulted  in  a  well-drawn  map,  copies  of 
which  were  sold  with  Shattuck's  History  of  Concord, 
published  five  years  afterwards.  H.  F.  Walling's 
map  of  the  town  was  made  in  1852,  and  his  map  of 
Middlesex  County  in  1856. 

The  lines,  courses,  distances,  and  angles  shown  by 
this  multitude  of  maps  and  plans  have  been  care- 
fully studied  and  compared  in  the  preparation  of  the 
map  here  presented. 

The  original  grant  was  laid  out  in  the  form  of  a 
square.  Right  angles  and  straight  lines  were  pre- 
ferred by  the  early  settlers  whenever  they  could  be 
had.  No  other  grants  had  been  made  near  this  place  ; 
consequently  it  was  not  deemed  necessary  to  notify 
any  adjoining  owner  of  the  running  of  the  line,  and 
the  simplest  possible  form  was  adopted. 

The  original  grant  may  be  bounded  as  follows : 
Beginning  at  the  southwest  corner  at  a  stone  post 
which  marks  the  present  southwest  corner  of  the 
town,  the  line  runs  north  40°  east  (approximate 
needle  course)  on  the  Acton  line  to  a  stone  at  the 
present  northwest  corner  of  Concord,  near  the  Dudley 
place.  When  Acton  was  made  a  town,  the  statute  ^ 
bounded  it  on  the  east  by  "  Concord  old  bounds ; " 
from  which  it  appears  that  Acton  includes  no  part  of 
the  original  Concord,  and  that  the  dividing  line  be- 

1  July  3,  1735.     See  Prov.  Laws,  ii.  763. 


8  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

tween  the  two  towns  is  a  portion  of  the  old  Concord 
line  on  that  side.  The  Acton  boundary  extended 
leads  to  a  heap  of  lichen-covered  boulders  surmounted 
by  a  stake.  This  ancient  monument  is  near  the  top 
of  a  hill  in  the  southwesterly  part  of  Carlisle,  and 
undoubtedly  marks  the  old  northwest  corner  of  our 
town.  It  was  identified  and  pointed  out  to  the  wri- 
ter on  the  ground  by  Major  B.  F.  Heald,  of  Carlisle, 
who  says  that  he  has  often  heard  his  father  and 
other  ancient  men,  long  since  deceased,  speak  of 
this  bound  as  marking  the  old  Concord  corner ;  and 
everything  goes  to  corroborate  this  testimony.  The 
place  was  commonly  known  by  the  name  of  "  Berry 
Corner,"  and  was  the  original  northeast  corner  of 
Acton;  but,  in  1780,^  a  portion  of  that  town  near 
this  point  was  included  in  what  was  then  constituted 
as  the  District  of  Carlisle,  and  subsequently  formed 
a  part  of  the  town  of  the  same  name.^ 

Making  a  right  angle  at  this  corner  the  line  runs 
southeasterly  through  the  lower  part  of  Carlisle, 
coinciding  in  two  places  with  our  present  boundary, 
and,  crossing  the  river,  runs  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
to  the  southward  of  the  main  street  of  Bedford  and 
parallel  with  it,  to  a  point  on  the  upland  about  forty 
rods  east  of  the  Shawshine  River.  Ancient  stone 
walls  preserve  this  line  in  part.  The  bound  at  the 
northeast  corner  must  have  been  removed  at  some 

1  Statute  passed  April  28,  1780. 

2  Carlisle  did  net  acquire  all  the  legal  characteristics  of  a  town 
until  February  18,  1805.     3  Special  Laws,  497. 


CONCOED  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  9 

time  after  Bedford  was  incorporated  ;  and,  as  it  stood 
in  cultivated  land,  near  a  house,  the  farmer  would 
not  be  likely  to  value  it  so  highly  as  we  should,  had 
he  allowed  it  to  remain.  The  corner  can  be  located 
with  sufficient  accuracy  however,  by  the  intersection 
of  the  north  line,  just  described,  with  the  line  on  the 
east;  and  it  appears  from  the  Billerica  records  of 
1700  that  the  corner  was  then  marked  by  a  stake 
and  stones.^ 

1  The  following  is  taken  from  the  town  records  of  Billerica,  where 
it  appears  under  the  date  of  Feb.  11,  1699-1700.  "  by  agreement 
betwene  the  Town  of  Concord  &  Billerika  the  bounds  betwene  these 
Towns  were  renued  &  whereas  severall  of  the  old  bounds  were  rot- 
ten and  lost  they  now  agreed  to  make  new  bounds  instead  thereof  or 
instead  of  them.  We  began  at  Concord  South  east  Corner,  which 
was  a  stake  &  stones  about  it  standing  on  the  South  east  of  Shaw- 
shin  River  about  fourty  poles  from  it  &  kept  the  old  bound  trees 
untill  we  came  at  the  great  Cedar  Swamp,  &  through  the  sd  swamp 
(all  though  the  trees  in  it  were  marked  sum  what  Crooked)  yet  we 
renued  the  old  marks,  untill  we  came  within  six  score  pole  of  Concord 
River  unto  a  great  white  oake  very  often  &  old  marked  and  betwene 
this  white  oake  &  the  River  there  being  no  more  bounds  to  be  found, 
we  agreed  to  Run  from  this  white  oak  unto  sd  River  upon  a  point 
Running  North  fivety  &  three  degrees  west  &  marked  the  bounds  suf- 
ficiently which  line  did  cut  cross  Abraham  Tailors  a  little  before  we 
came  at  the  River  this  is  a  tru  draft  of  what  is  concluded  relating 
unto  the  premises  as  attest 

"Jonathan  Danforth 

"  Surveier.^' 

This  renewal  of  the  bounds  was  assented  to  by  Joseph  French, 
Samuel  Davis,  Jr.,  and  Thomas  Brown,  the  Concord  committee,  and 
by  Davis,  French,  and  Abraham  Taylor,  as  proprietors  of  lands  adja- 
cent to  the  line.  As  reasons  for  doing  the  work  at  this  time  it  was 
urged  that  the  season  was  favorable,  "  because  of  passing  the  swamps 
upon  the  yice  &  it  had  not  bene  thoroughly  don  for  sum  years." 

This  agreement,  with  some  verbal  discrepancies,  which  do  not  alter 
the  sense,  is  recorded  at  the  end  of  the  second  volume  of  the  Concord 


10  CONCORD  IN   TPIE   COLONIAL   PERIOD. 

Returning  to  the  southwest  corner,  we  run  south- 
easterly on  the  present  Sudbury  line  to  the  river, 
and  thence  in  the  same  course,  on  the  Wayland 
line,  to  the  corner  at  Lincoln ;  then  striking  across 
the  lower  corner  of  Lincoln  and  keeping  in  the  same 
straight  line,  we  come  to  a  heap  of  stones  situated 
near  a  brook,  and  in  a  line  with  that  part  of  the 
boundary  between  Lincoln  and  Weston  which  ex- 
tends southwesterly  from  the  great  road  at  G.  F. 
Harrington's  house.  Turning  and  making  a  right 
angle  at  this  corner,  we  proceed  towards  the  north- 
east, on  old  stone  walls,  just  touching  the  eastern 
edge  of  Beaver  Pond  and  including  a  portion  of 
the  boundary  between  Bedford  and  Lexington,^ 
thus  meeting  our  north  line  and  completing  the 
square. 

The  reader  will  naturally  expect  to  find  the  sides 
of  the    square  measuring  just  six  miles  each,  but 

records,  but,  as  some  words  are  worn  off  at  the  edges  of  the  leaves,  it 
was  thought  best  to  foUow  the  records  of  Billerica. 

1  The  southerly  bounds  of  Bedford  ran  eastward  by  a  crooked 
line  "to  Lexington  bounds,  and  keeping  Lexington  line  to  Billerica 
line,  to  a  stake  and  heap  of  stones,  heing  the  northeasterly  corner  of 
Concord ;  from  thence  continuing  on  Lexington  line  to  a  stake  and 
heap  of  stones  called  Woburn  Corner,  &c."  St.  1729;  Prov.  Laws, 
ii.  527. 

The  bounds  by  which  Lincoln  was  set  off  in  1754,  ran  northward 
from  the  Boston  road  "to  Bedford  line;  and  by  Bedford  line  to 
Concord  Corner,  adjoining  to  Lexington,  &c."  The  "Corner"  here 
referred  to  was,  of  course,  the  new  corner  made  when  Bedford  was  set 
off,  as  distinguished  from  the  old  Shawshin  Corner  mentioned  above; 
and  the  statute  above  cited,  taken  with  the  statute  defining  the  Bedford 
bounds,  establishes  beyond  a  doubt  that  the  present  northeast  corner 
of  Lincoln  was  in  the  old  Concord  line. 


COXCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  11 

they  are  found,  in  fact,  to  measure  almost  exactly 
six  and  two-thirds  miles.  On  Hosmer's  plan,  before 
referred  to,  the  length  of  the  western  boundary  is 
given  as  six  miles  and  one  hundred  and  forty-two 
rods.  In  the  present  state  of  our  information  the 
lensTth  of  these  lines  cannot  be  stated  with  exact- 
ness,  because  of  difference  in  the  results  shown  by 
recorded  surveys.  The  discrepancies,  however,  do 
not  affect  the  conclusions  already  reached  by  us,  and 
are  not  so  surprising  when  the  length  of  the  lines  is 
considered,  the  nature  of  the  ground  to  be  traversed, 
and  the  fact  that  no  such  accuracy  was  needed  or 
desired  as  would  be  considered  necessary  in  the 
measurement  of  smaller  tracts  bounded  by  shorter 
lines.  The  writer  is  informed  that,  in  locating  land 
grants  in  Pennsylvania,  it  has  been  customary  to  add 
ten  per  cent  as  an  allowance  for  poor  land ;  and  it 
appears  from  papers  in  our  own  State  archives  that, 
in  locating  other  grants  in  Massachusetts  in  the  early 
times,  it  was  permissible  to  add  something  to  the 
amount  granted,  "  for  rocks  and  waste  land."  More- 
over, it  is  well  known  that  the  early  grants  as  laid 
out  almost  always  exceeded  the  amount  named  in 
the  grant.  Some  of  the  excess  in  our  case  may 
have  been  allowed  for  public  roads,  and  part,  no 
doubt,  was  for  slack  in  the  chain. 

Annexed  to  every  grant  of  land  by  the  General 
Court  was  the  condition,  either  expressed  or  im- 
plied, that  no  prior  grants  should  be  interfered  with. 
Probably  the  thought  never  entered  Willard's  mind 


12  CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD. 

that  this  restriction  would  cause  any  difficulty  in 
fixing  the  bounds  of  his  rectangular  township  in 
the  wild  woods  of  Musketaquid  ;  for  Concord  was 
the  first  settlement  above  tide-water,  and  when  he 
had  set  his  bounds,  he  believed  them  to  be  sur- 
rounded on  every  hand  by  unappropriated  wilder- 
ness. It  was  claimed,  however,  by  the  Watertown 
men  that  the  lines  of  their  grant,  running  eight 
miles  into  the  country,  converged  to  a  point  north  • 
of  Walden  Pond,  thus  seriously  marring  the  math- 
ematical simplicity  of  Willard's  plan.  An  appeal  to 
the  Court  resulted  in  an  order,  August  20,  1638, 
that  Watertown  lines  should  extend  so  far  only  "  as 
Concord,  bounds  give  leave." 

The  tract  of  wilderness  land  thus  enclosed  was  oc- 
cupied, in  a  sense,  by  two  or  three  hundred  Indians, 
who  eked  out  a  miserable  existence  by  hunting  and 
fishing,  with  the  help  of  such  planting  and  reaping 
as  was  compatible  "with  their  slothful  ignorance  and 
imperfect  tools  fashioned  of  wood  and  stone,  clam 
shells  and  bones  of  animals. 

As  early  as  1636,  at  the  house  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bulkeley, 
a  treaty  was  made  with  the  Indians,  by  the  terms  of 
which  the  entire  tract,  six  miles  square,  was  ceded  to 
the  English  "undertakers."  The  following  deposi- 
tions taken  in  1684,  are  interesting  evidence  of  this 
interview.  They  are  recorded  in  the  town  records, 
as  well  as  with  Middlesex  Deeds,  but  where  the 
copies  differ,  those  in  the  county  records  are  pre- 
ferred as  having  been  made  from  the  originals. 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  13 

"The  Testimony  of  Richard  Rice  aged  seventy-two  years 
Sheweth  that  about  the  yeare  one  thousand  six  hundred  Thirty 
six  there  was  an  Agreement  made  by  some  undertakers  for  the 
Towne  since  called  Concord  ^  with  some  Indians  that  had  right  unto 
the  land  then  purchased  for  the  Township  The  Indians  names 
was  Squaw  Sachem,  Tohuttawun  Sagamore,  Muttunkatucka,  and 
some  other  indians  }•*  lived  then  at  that  place,  The  Tract  of 
land  being  six  miles  square,  The  center  of  the  place  being  about 
the  place  the  meeting  house  standeth  now,  The  bargaine  was 
made  &  confirmed  between  3®  English  undertakers  &  the  Indi- 
ans then  present,  to  their  good  sattisfaction  ou  all  hands. 
"  7  .  8  .  84.         Sworne  in  Court 

' '  Tho  Danforth  Record*" " 
[Middlesex  Deeds,  Lib.  9,  fol.  105.] 

' '  The  Testimon}'  of  William  Buttrick  aged  sixty-eight  years 
or  thereabouts  Sheweth,  That  about  the  yeare  one  thousand 
six  hundred  thirty  &  six,  there  was  an  Agreement  made  by 
some  undertakers  for  the  Towne  since  called  Concord  with 
some  Indians  that  had  right  unto  the  land  then  purchased 
of  them  for  the  Towneship ;  the  Indians  names  was  Squaw 
Sachem  Tohuttawun  Sagamore  &  Nuttankatucka  &  some 
other  Indians  that  lived  and  was  then  present  at  that  place  & 
at  that  time.  The  Tract  of  land  being  six  miles  square,  The 
center  being  about  y^  place  the  meeting  house  now  standeth  on. 
The  bargaine  was  made  &  confirmed  between  the  English  under- 
takers &  the  Indians  then  present  &  concernd,  to  theyr  good 
sattisfaction  on  all  hands 

"  7,  8,  84.         Sworne  in  Court 

"Tho:  Danforth.  R." 
[Middlesex  Deeds,  Lib.  9,  fol.  105.] 

"The  Deposition  Jehojakin  alias  Mantatucket  a  christian 
Indian  of  Natick  aged.  70  years  or  thereabouts, 

1  This  expression,  which  also  appears  in  Buttrick's  testimony,  taken 
alone  might  convey  the  impression  that  the  name  Concord  was  applied 
subsequently  to  1636;  but  the  order  of  the  court  authorizing  the  plan- 
tation affixes  the  name.     Ante,  p.  5. 


14  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

"  This  Deponent  testifyeth  &  sayth,  that  about  50  years  since 
he  lived  within  the  bounds  of  that  place  which  is  now  called 
Concord  at  the  foot  of  an  hill  named  Nawshawtick  now  in  the 
possession  of  M"^  Henery  Woodis  &  that  he  was  p'^sent  at  a 
bargaine  made  at  the  house  of  Mr  Peter  Bulkly  (now  Capt 
Timothy  Wheeler's)  between  M'^'  Simon  Willard  M^  John  Jones, 
M""  Spencer  &  severall  others  in  behalfe  of  the  Englishmen  who 
were  setling  upon  the  s^  Towne  of  Concord  &  Squaw  Sachem, 
Tahuttawun  &  Nimrod  Indians  which  s^  Indians  (according  to 
y^  particular  Rights  &  Interests)  then  sold  a  Tract  of  land 
conteyning  six  mile  square  (the  s^  house  being  accounted 
about  the  center)  to  the  s^^  English  for  a  place  to  settle  a  Towne 
in.  And  he  the  s^  Deponent  saw  s'^  Willard  &  Spencer  pay  a 
parcell  of  wompompeag,  Hatchets,  Hows,  Knives,  Cotton  Cloath 
&  Shirts  to  the  s'^  Indians  for  the  s*^!  Tract  of  land :  And  in 
prticular  he  the  s*^  Deponent  perfectl}^  remembreth  that  Wom- 
pachowet  Husband  to  Squaw-Sachem  received  a  Suit  of  cotton 
cloath,  an  Hatt,  a  white  linnen  band,  shoes,  stockins  &  a  great 
coat  upon  account  of  s*^  bargaine  And  in  the  conclusion  the 
s^^  Indians  declard  themselvs  sattisfyed  &  told  the  Englishmen 
they  were  Welcome.  There  were  also  present  at  the  s^  Bargain 
Waban,  Merch*  Thomas  his  brother  in  law  Nowtoquatuckquaw 
an  Indian,  Aantonuish  now  called  Jethro 
"taken  upon  oath.  20tii  of  October  1684 
"Before  Daniel  Gookin  Sen'".  Asisis* 

"  Tiio  :  Danforth.     Dep*.  Gov^." 
[Middlesex  Deeds,  Lib.  9,  fol.  100.] 

' '  The  Deposition  of  Jethro  a  Christian  Indian  of  Natick 
aged  70  years  or  therabouts 

"  this  Deponent  testifyeth  &  sayth.  That  about  50  j-ears 
since  he  dwelt  at  Nashobah,  near  unto  the  place  now  named  by 
the  English  Concord  &  that  coming  to  s^^  Concord  was  p''sent 
at  the  making  a  bargaine  (which  was  done  at  the  house  of  M^" 
Peter  Bulkly  w*'  now  Cap*.  Timothy  Wheeler  liveth  in)  between 
severall  Englishmen  (in  behalfe  of  such  as  were  setling  s'^  place) 
viz  :  M'"  Simon  Willard,  M""  John  Jones,  M^"  Spencer  &  others 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  15 

on  the  one  party  And  Squaw  Sachem,  Tohattowan  &  Nimrod 
Indians  on  the  other  part}- :  And  that  the  s<i  Indians  according 
to  y'  severall  rights)  did  then  sell  unto  the  s'^  Englishmen  a 
certeyn  Tract  of  land  conteyning  six  miles  square  (the  s'^  house 
being  accounted  about  y^  center)  to  plant  a  Town  in.  And 
that  he  the  s^  Deponent  did  see  the  s"^  Willard  &  Spencer^  pay  to 
the  s^  Indians  for  the  s<^  Tract  of  land  a  parcell  of  Wompom- 
peag,  Hatchetts,  Hows,  Knives  Cotton  Cloath  &  shirts  &  that 
Wappacowet  Husband  to  Squaw  Sachem  had  of  the  s^^  English 
upon  the  Account  of  the  s*i  bargain,  a  new  suit  of  cotton  cloath, 
a  linnen  band,  a  hat,  shoes,  stockins  and  a  great  Coat,  &  y* 
after  the  s'^  Bargaine  was  concluded  M'^  Simon  Willard,  poynt- 
ing  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world  declared  that  they  had 
bought  three  miles  from  that  place  east  west,  north  &  south 
&  the  s*!  Indians  manifested  their  free  consent  thereunto,  there 
were  p^'ent  at  the  making  of  the  s'^  Bargaine  amongst  other 
Indians,  Waban,  Merch*,  Thomas,  his  Brother  in  law  Notaw- 
quatuckquaw  &  Jehojakin  who  is  yet  living  &  dposeth  in  like 
manner  as  above. 

"  7  .  8  .  84         Sworne  in  Court  by  Jethro. 

"Attests        Tho:  Danforth.   R." 
[Middlesex  Deeds,  Lib.  9,  fol.  106.] 

Judged  from  our  point  of  view,  the  price  was 
insignificant,  but  the  Indians  seem  to  have  been  sat- 
isfied, and  it  is  probable  that  the  main  purpose  and 

1  William  Spencer,  who  was  present  when  the  bargain  was  made 
with  the  Indians,  and  received  grants  of  land  iu  this  neighborhood, 
was  a  prominent  citizen  of  Cambridge  and  a  magistrate.  The  name 
of  Spencer  Brook  is  a  pleasant  reminder  of  one  whose  interest  in 
Concord  was  contemporary  with  the  birth  of  the  town. 

In  165-1,  Samuel  Adams,  of  Chai'lestown,  conveyed  to  Richard 
Temple,  of  the  same  town,  "  the  land  in  Concord  that  was  sometimes 
Mr  Wm  Spencer's  "  (Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  1,  f.  129) ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Spencer  was  ever  a  resident  here.  The 
land  was  a  large  tract  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  at  Angier's  Mills. 


16  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

value  of  the  treaty  of  purchase  consisted  in  the 
estabhshment  of  friendly  relations  with  the  occu- 
pants of  the  soil.  The  colonists  preferred  the  deri- 
vation of  their  title  through  the  royal  charter  and 
the  grant  of  the  General  Court,  but  were  not  averse 
to  strengthening  their  position  by  any  suitable  means 
that  were  offered. 

We  find  that,  May  17,  1637,— 

"Concord  had  leave  graunted  them  to  purchase  the  ground 
■w*^in  their  lixaits  of  the  Indeans,  to  wit,  Atawans  &  Squa 
Sachim."  ^ 

The  following  record  appears  under  date  of  August 
1,  1637:  — 

"  Webb  Cowet,  Squaw  Sachem,  Tahatawants,  Natan  quaticke 
alias  Oldmans,  Caato,  alias  Goodmans  '^  did  expresse  their  con- 
sent to  the  sale  of  the  weire  at  Concord  over  against  the  towne 
&  all  the  planting  ground  w*''^  hath  bene  formerly  planted  b}'  the 
Indians,  to  the  inhabitants  of  Concord,  of  w'^^  there  was  a  write- 
ing,  w*^  their  marks  subscribed  given  into  the  Court,  expressing 
the  price  given."  ^ 

Whether  the  transaction  of  which  this  record  and 
'^  writeing "  were  the  evidence  related  to  the  orig- 
inal grant  and  the  agreement  entered  into  in  Mr. 
Bulkeley's  house,  or  to  something  not  included  in 
those  negotiations,  is  not  clear. 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  Jethro  and  Jehoiakin  say 

1  Mass.  Records,  i.  196. 

2  Sudbury  (five  miles  square)  was  bought  of  this  "  Caato,  alias 
Goodmans."  He  had  a  wigwam  on  a  hill  near  the  centre  of  Sudbury, 
still  known  as  Goodman's  Hill.     Drake's  Middlesex,  ii.  358. 

8  Mass.  Records,  i.  196. 


CONCORD   IN   THE    COLONIAL  PERIOD.  17 

that  Mr.  Bulkeley's  house  was  "accounted  about  the 
center,"  while  Buttrick  and  Rice  fix  the  central  point 
at  "  about  the  place  the  meeting  house  standeth 
now."  ^  This  discrepancy  seems  to  indicate  that 
the  township  was  not  laid  out  with  reference  to  any 
object  as  the  exact  centre,  but  with  a  view  solely  to 
practical  advantages  and  resources.  Willard,  who 
had  previously  traded  with  the  Indians  in  this  neigh- 
borhood, knew  what  the  country  was,  and  so  laid  out 
his  bounds  as  to  include  six  valuable  mill  sites,  seven 
natural  ponds,  more  than  nine  miles  of  river,  and  a 
large  number  of  smaller  streams.  The  meadows 
traversed  by  the  sluggish  rivers  that  ran  by  devious 
windings  to  the  northward,  were  bordered  by  tracts 
of  upland  that  had  been  burned  over  and  brought 
under  rude  cultivation  by  the  natives,  and  afforded 
a  large  area  of  cleared  land  that  was  very  attrac- 
tive to  the  English  settlers.  The  woodland  was  for 
the  most  part  covered  with  pine.  Shad,  salmon,  and 
alewives  abounded  in  the  rivers  and  brooks,  which 
were  also  the  haunts  of  fur-bearing  animals.  Willard 
was  specially  interested  in  the  fur  trade,  and  it  is 
likely  that  this  tract,  so  abundantly  supplied  with 
ponds  and  water  courses,  was  selected  and  laid  out 
with  particular  regard  to  the  prosecution  of  that 
business.^ 

1  Ante,  pp.  13,  14. 

2  In  1641  a  company  was  formed,  with  Simon  Willard  at  the  head 
of  it,  and  endowed  with  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  with  the  Indians,  of 
which  the  traffic  in  beaver  skins  formed  a  very  considerable  part. 
Mass.  Records,  i.  322,  323. 

2 


18  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

The  first  dwelling-places  were  under  the  ridge  of 
land  that  extends  in  an  easterly  direction  from  the 
Town  House,  and  was  known  in  early  days  as  "  the 
hills."  Immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the  first 
settlers,  according  to  Johnson, 

' '  they  burrow  themselves  in  the  earth  for  their  first  shelter 
under  some  hill-side,  casting  the  earth  aloft  upon  timber,  thej^ 
make  a  smoaky  fire  against  the  earth  at  the  highest  side.  .  .  . 
In  these  poor  wigwams  they  sing  psalmes,  pi'ay  and  praise  their 
God,  till  the}'  can  provide  them  houses,  which  ordinarily  was 
not  wont  to  be  with  many  till  the  earth,  by  the  Lord's  blessing, 
brought  forth  bread  to  feed  them,  their  wives  and  little  ones, 
which  with  sore  labours  they  attain." 

As  soon  as  the  most  pressing  needs  of  the  situation 
were  met,  allotments  of  land  were  made  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  company,  and  house-lots  were  laid  out 
with  some  regularity  on  both  sides  of  the  Mill  Brook, 
eastward  as  far  as  the  Kettle  place  lately  owned  by 
Mr.  Staples,  and  on  Walden  Street  to  the  Almshouse  ; 
in  a  westerly  direction  as  far  as  the  Damon  place ; 
and  to  the  Old  Manse  and  the  Edmund  Hosmer  place 
on  the  north.  Besides  his  house-lot,  each  one  re- 
ceived his  due  proportion  of  planting-ground  and 
meadow  lying  in  the  near  vicinity.  This  was  the 
first  division  of  lands,  the  price  paid  into  the  common 
stock  being  a  shilling  per  acre,  or,  in  some  special 
cases,  a  sixpence  per  acre.  The  land  thus  divided 
constituted  a  small  part  only  of  the  whole  grant,  and 
the  remainder  was  held  in  common  and  undivided, 
subject  to  such  regulations  as  the  inhabitants  thought 
fit  to  establish,  until  the  second  division  in  1653, 


CONCORD  IX  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  19 

by  which,   substantially,  the  whole  remaining  por- 
tion of  the  original  grant  was  disposed  of. 

The  civil  affairs  of  "the  company  of  the  whole 
town  "  were  managed  by  selectmen  or  ''  townsmen," 
who  received  formal  instructions  for  their  guidance 
from  a  committee  chosen  in  town-meetins;  for  that 
purpose.  The  instructions  of  1672  are  preserved  in 
the  town  records.^     The  constable  was  an  important 

^  "  Instructiones  given  to  the  Selectmen  of  Coucord  for  the  year, 
1672. 

1  To  see  that  the  ministers  Rates  be  discharged  acording  to  time 

2  To  acsamen  whether  the  meting  house,  be  finised  acording  to  agree- 

ment, &  if  not,  that  it  may  be;  but  if  the  agreement  be  fulfiled, 
then  to  take  cear  that  somthing  be  done  to  keep  the  water  out, 
and  that  the  pulpet  be  altred 

3  That  ceare  be  taken  of  the  bookes  of  marters  &  other  bookes,  that 

belong  to  the  Towne,  that  they  be  kept  from  abeuce  uesage,  & 
not  to  be  lent  to  any  person  more  then  one  month  at  one  time, 

4  That  spedy  kere  be  taken  to  mend  or  demales,  the  foote  bridg  over 

the  north  Riv^  at  the  Iron  "Works ; 

5  To  treat  with  Capt.  Thomas  Wheler  about  his  leese  of  the  Townes 

farme  &  if  it  may  be  upon  Resonable  termes  to  alter  that  per- 
ticuler  wherein  the  Towne  is  Jn  Jnioyned  to  send  such  a  nomber 
cattle  yearly  to  be  herded  by  him  ; 

6  To  let  out  the  land  &  housing  where  now  John  Law  dweles;  for 

the  benifet  of  the  towne, 

7  To  take  order  that  all  Come  filds  be  sufficently  fenced  in  seson,  the 

Crane  fild  &  bricke  keld  field  especially; 

8  And  that  incorigment  be  given  for  the  destroing  of  blackeburds  & 

Jaies ; 

9  That  spesiall  cear  be  taken  to  preuent  damiag  by  swine  in  come 

fieldes  &  medows 

10  That  shepe  &  lames  be  keept  from  doing  damiag  in  cornefields; 

11  To  make  a  Record  of  all  the  habitationes,  that  are  priviledged  with 

liberty  at  Comones ; 

12  To  take  account  of  the  laste  yeares  selectmen  for  what  is  don, 

[due?]  to  the  Towne  by  Reent  by  John  Law,  or  by  givft  by 


20  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

personage  elected  by  the  town,  but  sworn  in  by  the 
officers  of  the  colonial  government.-^  The  selectmen 
were  the  agents  and  representatives  of  the  town  for 
almost  every  purpose,  except  appearing  at  the  an- 
nual Court  of  Election,  to  which  the  town  sent  two 
deputies,  who,  under  the  colonial  regime,  were  not 
required  to  be  inhabitants  of  the  town.^ 

It  seems  that  in  the  older  towns  on  the  sea-coast, 
the  selectmen  were  at  first  invested  with  limited 
judicial  powers ;  ^  but,  as  early  as  1638,  it  was  ordered 
that  commissioners  "  for  ending  of  small  matters," 
should  be  appointed  for  each  town  by  the  County 
Court,  with  jurisdiction  of  cases  in  which  the  debt  or 
damage  did  not  exceed  twenty  shillings.^ 

In  1639  the  towns  were  ordered  to  keep  records 

Joseph  Meriam ;  or  otherwise  of  wright  dew  to  the  Towne,  not 
to  Restraine  the  selectmen  from  lenity  towards  John  Law; 

13  To  see  that  menes  lands  both  Improved  &  unimproved  be  truly 

broth,  [brought  in] 

14  To  take  care  that  vndesiarable  persones  be  not  entertained ;  so  as  to 

become  inhabitants 

15  To  take  cere  that  qp'sones  doe  not  ouer  Charg  ther  Comoues  with 

Cattle, 

16  That  all  Fsones  that  have  taken  the  oath  of  fidellity  be  Recorded, 

17  That  cere  be  taken  that  Cattle  be  herded,  as  much  as  may  be,  with 

convenence 

These  perticolei'S  were  agreed  upon  by  vs  whose  names  are  vnder- 
writen  nehamia.  hunt;  John  fflint;  John  miles;  Witt 

dated  4:  1.  mo.  J|^^  heartwell ;  Tho:  Wheler  Joshuah  brooke 
Joseph;  heaward;  Gershom.  Brooke,  Humpry  barit  John  Billings  " 

^  Mass.  Records,  i.  248. 

2  This  was  changed  in  1693,  the  representative  from  Concord  voting 
against  the  change. 

8  Hutchinson,  i.  398. 

*  Mass.  Records,  i.  239. 


CONCORD   IN   THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  21 

of  births,  marriages,  and  deaths  occurring  within 
their  respective  limits.  The  officer  to  whom  this 
duty  fell  was  called  "  clerk  of  the  writs,"  and  later, 
"  town  clerk." 

For  the  greater  security  of  new  settlements,  the 
law  prohibited  the  building  of  dwelling-houses  (ex- 
cept mill-houses  and  farm-houses  of  such  as  had 
their  dwelling-houses  in  some  town)  more  than  half 
a  mile  from  the  meeting-house,  unless  by  the  consent 
of  the  court.^  This  order  was  at  first  observed,  but 
as  the  town  increased  in  population,  new  houses  were 
built  on  the  more  remote  lands  without  regard  to 
the  prohibition. 

The  first  houses  were  humble  structures,  with 
thatched  roofs,  and,  very  likely,  wooden  chimneys. 
Oiled  paper  served  in  place  of  window  glass.  Hastily 
constructed  of  perishable  materials,  not  one  of  these 
buildings  remains.  They  were  replaced  before  the 
lapse  of  many  years  by  houses  of  a  more  substan- 
tial character,  generally  facing  the  south,  with  shin- 
gled roofs  running  almost  to  the  ground  on  the 
back,  brick  chimneys,  and  a  projecting  second  story. 
Some  of  the  second  set  of  houses  were  dignified 
with  the  name  of  "  mansion,"  but  none  has  survived 
to  furnish  us  with  a  specimen  of  the  architecture 
favored  by  the  second  generation. 

By  its  first  recorded  vote  the  town  decided,  Feb. 
5,  1636,  that  the  meeting-house  —  temjDle  of  church 
and   state  —  should   "  stand   on   the  hill  neare    the 

^  Mass.  Records,  i.  157. 


22  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

brooke  on  the  east  side  of  goodman  Judsons  lott."  ^ 
Nothing  in  the  town  or  county  records  affords  any 
light  on  the  location  of  this  lot,  but  the  testimony 
afforded  by  tradition  has  pointed  with  little  vari- 
ation to  the  top  of  the  hill  in  or  near  the  old  burying 
ground,  as  the  site  of  the  first  meeting-house.  The 
meeting-house  at  Dedham,  built  about  the  same  time, 
was  thirty-six  feet  long,  twenty  feet  wide,  and  twelve 
feet  high  "  in  the  stud."  It  was  thatched  with  long 
grass,  and  was  probably  not  unlike  the  house  built 
by  our  ancestors.  Long  before  the  second  building 
was  erected  on  the  Common  (substantially  where  the 
Meeting-house  of  the  First  Parish  now  stands),  there 
was  a  lot  of  land  in  the  east  part  of  the  town  known 
as  "  the  meeting-house  frame ;  "  and,  unless  this  odd 
name  can  be  accounted  for  in  some  better  way,  it 
may  be  thought  to  indicate  the  land  which  supplied 
the  timber  for  the  first  place  of  public  worship.^ 

The  Church  of  Concord  was  formally  gathered  at 
Cambridge,  July  5,  1636,  being,  in  point  of  time, 
the  thirteenth  church  organized  in  the  colony;  and 

^  William  Judson  came  to  America  in  1634,  and  settled  in  Concord 
the  following  year  with  his  wife,  Grace,  and  sons,  Joseph,  Jeremiah, 
and  Joshua.  All  removed  in  1639  to  Hartford,  but  were  residents  of 
Stratford  in  1644,  where  the  sons  remained;  but  the  father  and 
mother  went  to  New  Haven,  where  she  died  Sept.  29,  1659.  Savage's 
Genealogical  Dictionary. 

2  This  lot  is  referred  to  in  the  town  records  of  lands  in  1666,  as  "  the 
place  caled  the  meting  house  frame."  June  20,  1694,  Francis  Fletcher 
conveys  to  his  son  Joseph  inter  alia,  ten  acres  in  the  easterly  part  of 
the  town,  called  "ye  Meeting  House  fframe,  upon  which  the  old  Saw 
mill  stands."     Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  13,  f.  409. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  23 

the  organization  was  completed  April  6,  1637,  when 
Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley  was  chosen  teacher,  and  Rev. 
John  Jones,  pastor.^  The  latter,  a  graduate  of  Oxford 
University,  arrived  in  October,  1635,^  and  joined  the 
Concord  company.  There  was,  at  this  time,  a  dis- 
tinction between  the  office  and  duties  of  teacher  and 
those  of  pastor,  but  none  of  the  authorities  state  the 
difference  clearly.  The  terms  soon  became  convert- 
ible, and  the  functions  of  both  offices  were  discharged 
by  one  person. 

Governor  Vane  and  Deputy-Governor  Winthrop 
were  invited  to  be  present  at  the  gathering  of  the 
church,  but,  on  account  of  a  real  or  fancied  breach 
of  etiquette,  failed  to  attend.^  Fine-spun  theories 
about  "  legal  joreachers  "  and  the  effect  of  ordination 
by  the  bishop  in  England  kept  from  the  ceremonies 
of  ordination  the  governor,  and  Rev.  John  Cotton, 
Mr.  Wheelwright,  "  and  the  two  ruling  elders  of 
Boston,  and  the  rest  of  that  church  which  were  of  any 
note  did  none  of  them  come  to  tliis  meeting."''  This 
matter  is  worth  mentioning  only  as  showing  that 
the  Concord  ministers  received  no  encouragement 

1  Winthrop,  i.  114,  225,  259. 

2  Winthrop,  i.  202. 

3  "Mr  Buckly  and  Mr.  Jones,  two  English  ministers,  appointed  this 
day  to  gather  a  church  at  Newtown,  to  settle  at  Concord.  They  sent 
word,  three  days  before,  to  the  governour  and  deputy,  to  desire  their 
presence  ;  but  they  took  it  in  ill  part,  and  thought  not  fit  to  go 
because  they  had  not  come  to  them  before,  (as  they  ought  to  have  done, 
and  as  others  had  done  before)  to  acquaint  them  with  their  purpose." 
Winthrop,  i.  225. 

*  Winthrop,  i.  260. 


24  CONCORD   IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD. 

at  the  beginning  of  their  undertaking  from  those  of 
whom,  they  would  have  been  most  Hkely  to  expect 
it,  and  from  whom  a  word  of  cheer  would  have  been 
most  welcome.  However,  it. mattered  little,  for  they 
had  fixed  their  habitations  in  the  wilds  and  must, 
sooner  or  later,  content  themselves  with  their  own 
resources.  After  the  departure  of  Mr.  Jones,  in 
1644,  Mr.  Bulkeley  was  sole  pastor,  at  a  salary  of 
£70,^  until  his  death  in  1659.  Lechford  speaks  of 
the  "  catechizing  of  children  "  and  others,  as  a  prac- 
tice peculiar  to  the  Concord  Church;  and  Mather 
says  of  the  pastor,^  "  he  was  very  laborious,  and  be- 
cause he  was,  through  some  infirmities  of  body,  not 
so  able  to  visit  his  flock,  and  instruct  them  from 
house  to  house,  he  added  unto  his  other  publick 
labours,  on  the  Lord's  days,  that  of  constant  cat- 
echizing; wherein,  after  all  the  unmarried  people 
had  answered,  all  the  people  of  the  whole  assembly 
were  edified,  by  his  expositions  and  applications." 

Edward  Bulkeley,  who  had  been  for  some  years 
minister  at  Marshfield,  succeeded  his  father,  with  a 
salary  of  £80 ;  but  as  he  was  no  longer  young,  and 
was  afflicted  with  lameness,  it  was  soon  deemed 
expedient  to  procure  the  services  of  a  colleague, 
and  accordingly  in  1667,  Rev.  Joseph  Estabrook, 
born  in  Enfield,  England,  and  educated  at  Harvard 
College,  was  engaged  at  a  salary  equal  to  Mr.  Bulke- 
ley's,  to  be  paid  half  in  money  and  half  in  produce.^ 
The  town  voted,  February  3,  1680,  — 

1  Shattuck,  152.        2  Magnalia,  iii.  c.  10.        »  Sliattuck,  161. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  25 

"  That  every  house  holder  that  hath  a  teame  greate[r]  or 
lesser  shall  accordingly  carj'  j'earl^^  one  loade  of  wood  to  the 
ministe[r]  and  every  other  house  holder  or  rateable  person  to 
cut  wood  one  day  and  for  the  ministers  :  and  that  the  wood  is 
to  be  equaly  devided  to  too  ministers  as  the  selectmen  for  the 
time  being  shall  appoynt." 

Mr.  Edward  Bulkeley's  pastorate  ended,  practically, 
March  5,  1694,  when  the  town  voted  as  follows :  — 

"  Whereas  their  Rever^  Pastor  M"".  Edward  Bulkely  is  under 
such  Infermatyes  of  Body  b}^  Reason  of  great  age  that  he  is  not 
capeable  of  Attending  the  worke  of  the  ministry  as  in  times 
past,  being  Also  sensible  of  the  obligation  that  they  are  under 
to  Afford  to  him  a  comfortable  maintenance  dureing  tlie  Terme 
of  his  natural  life,  that  thereby  the}-  ma}-  Testef}'  their  Gratatude 
for  his  former  service  in  the  Gospell,  That  they  the  sayd  People 
of  saj-d  Concord  do  hereb}^  oblige  y^  sa3-d  Towne  to  pay  to  3'^  s^ 
m'^  Bulkel}'  or  to  his  certain  order  3-early  &  each  3-ear  dureing 
his  natural  life,  the  sum  of  thirty-  pounds  of  mony  the  one  halfe 
at  or  before  the  first  of  octob"^  sixteen  hundred  ninty  &  four,  & 
the  otherer  halfe  at  or  before  the  fii'st  of  May  sixteen  hundred 
ninet}"  &  five,  which  sum  as  above  shall  be  paid  3-early  &  each 
year  upon  the  stxyd  Termes.  and  which  sum  of  Thirtj'  pounds 
truly  pa3-d  as  above,  shall  be  in  lieu  of  the  former  sallar3^  of 
eight}'  pounds  which  the  said  people  were  obliged  to  have  payd 
yearly  to  him  the  sa3d  mr.  Bulkle3-  for  his  ministerial  service." 

Mr.  Biilkeley  agreed  to  this  change  in  his  relations 
to  the  townspeople,  but  with  the  proviso  that  he 
should  be  "  left  at  liberty  by  this  agreement  whether 
to  Preach  or  not  to  preach  any  more  in  Concord." 
He  died  at  Chelmsford,  January  2,  1696,  at  an  ad- 
vanced age,  and  was  buried  at  Concord.^ 

All  church  matters  were  passed  upon  at  the  meet- 

^  Sewall. 


26  CONCORD  IN  TPIE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

ings  of  the  inhabitants  held  in  the  meeting-house. 
But,  in  setthng  a  minister,  it  was  customary  for  the 
members  of  the  church  to  act  in  the  first  instance 
as  a  distinct  body,  and  when  an  agreement  was  arrived 
at,  they  referred  the  result  to  the  people  for  ratifica- 
tion in  town-meeting.  The  town  organization  existed 
quite  as  much  for  the  support  of  divine  worship  as 
for  the  maintenance  of  roads  and  bridges.  For  an 
instance  of  the  mingling  of  functions  caused  by  this 
union  of  interests,  witness  the  following  extract  from 
the  records  of  the  year  1678:  — 

"agreement  between  John  Gotten  of  Concord  and  y^  too 
Deacons  and  :  :  the  Selecte  men  of  Concord  — -  viz  —  y*  y®  said 
Deacons  have  exchanged  the  Towen  Cowe  for  another  Cowe  of 
the  said  John  Cottens  y®  said  John  Cotten  to  have  y*'  Town  Cowe 
to  kill  and  to  have  y^  vse  of  the  said  Cowe  now  exchanged  for 
y^  Terme  of  tow  years  from  y®  date  hereof  next  ensueing 

Robert  Meriam 
Luke  Potter 
John  Cotton." 

It  was  the  practice  to  choose  a  committee  "  to  seat 
the  meeting-house,"  who,  in  the  execution  of  this 
delicate  duty,  were  expected  to  consider  the  age, 
wealth,  and  social  or  official  importance  of  the 
worshipper.' 

Very  early  in  the  history  of  the  plantation  Mr. 
Ambrose  Martin  of  this  town  asserted  his  riii-ht  to 
freedom  of  speech,  but,  like  Mr.  John  Hoar  and  Dr. 

1  The  committee  chosen  March  7,  168^,  consisted  of  Captain  Tim- 
othy Wheeler,  Deacon  Potter,  John  Smedly,  Senior,  Cornet  Woodis, 
and  John  Flint,  who  added  to  their  number  Peter  Bulkeley,  Esq. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  27 

Philip  Read  at  a  later  date,  he  found  that  the  free 
expression  of  opinion  on  certain  subjects  was  an 
expensive  luxury.  Martin's  case,  which  arose  in 
1639,  and  attracted  much  attention,^  well  illustrates 
the  sternness  (to  use  no  harsher  term)  of  the  colonial 
government;  but  some  good  came  of  the  severity 
in  this  case,  for  it  produced  a  most  valuable  doc- 
ument written  by  Mr.  Bulkeley  and  signed  by  him 
and  his  associate  and  thirteen  members  of  the 
church. 

Martin's  offence  was  that,  in  argument,  he  applied 
an  unsavory  epithet  to  the  church  covenant,  styled 
it  "  a  humane  invention,"  and  said  that  "  hee  won- 
dered at  God's  patience,  feared  it  would  end  in  the 
sharpe,"  and  that  "  the  ministers  did  dethrone  Christ 
and  set  up  themselves."  He  was  sentenced  to  pay 
a  fine  of  £10,  and,  Avhat  was  probably  quite  as  unpal- 
atable, advised  "  to  go  to  Mr.  Mather  to  bee  instructed 
by  him."     Upon  the  delinquent's  refusal  to  comply 

1  The  matter  is  alluded  to  by  Winthrop  and  by  Lechford,  both  of 
whom  give  Martin  the  title  of  "Mr."  or  "  Master,"  which  was  not 
generally  applied,  as  with  us,  but  was  restricted  to  those  who  by  reason 
of  wealth,  social  position  or  public  service  were  ranked  as  gentlemen. 

"  Now  and  then  a  baronet  made  his  home  for  a  time  in  Boston,  but 
otherwise  the  highest  title  was  Mr.  or  Mrs.,  and  this  title  was  applied 
only  to  a  few  persons  of  unquestioned  eminence.  All  ministers  and 
their  wives  took  the  title,  and  the  higher  magistrates;  but  it  was  not 
given  to  deputies  to  the  General  Court  as  such.  The  great  body  of 
respectable  citizens  were  dubbed  Goodman  and  Goodwife,  but  officers 
of  the  church  and  of  the  militia  were  almost  invariably  called  by  the 
title  of  their  rank  or  office.  Below  the  grade  of  goodman  and  good- 
wife  were  still  the  servants,  who  had  no  prefix  to  their  plain  names." 
H.  E.  Scudder,  in  Mem.  Hist,  of  Boston,  vol.  i.  p.  487. 


28  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

with  these  orders,  his  cow  was  taken  and  sold,  and  sub- 
sequently a  levy  was  made  upon  his  house  and  land/ 

The  petition  of  the  church  above  referred  to  was 
presented  upon  his  refusal  to  accept  the  portion  of 
the  property  remaining  after  the  legal  demands  were 
satisfied.  The  original  is  preserved  among  the  Shat- 
tuck  papers,  and  is  in  Mr.  Bulkeley's  handwriting. 

"To  the  Honoured  Court. 
"  The  Petition  of  the  church  of  Concord  in  behalfe  of  our  brother 
Mr.  Ambrose  Martin. 
"  Your  humble  Petitioners  doe  intreate,  that  whereas  some 
yeares  agoe,  our  sayd  brother  Mr.  Martin,  was  fined  b}'  the 
Court  for  some  unadvised  speeches  uttered  against  the  church 
covent,  for  w'^h  he  was  fined  ten  pounds,  and  had  to  the  value 
of  £20  by  distresse  taken  from  him,  of  which  £20,  there  is  one 
halfe  remayning  in  the  hands  of  the  Countre}'  to  this  da}'',  w%  ten 
pounds  he  cannot  be  p^swaded  to  accept  of,  unlesse  he  may  have 
the  whole  restored  unto  him,  (w^'h  we  doe  impute  unto  his  in- 
firmitj^e  and  weakness)  We  now  considering  the  greate  decay  of 
his  estate,  and  the  necessitj'es  (if  not  extremit3'es)  w*^h  the  familye 
is  come  unto,  we  intreate  (as  was  sa^xl)  that  this  honoured  Court 
would  please  to  pitye  his  necessitous  condition,  and  to  remitt 
unto  him  the  whole  fine  w%  was  lavd  upon  him,  without  w^li, 
he  cannot  be  p^'swaded  to  receave  the  prt  w^h  is  due  unto  him. 
Wherein  if  this  honoured  Court  shall  please  to  grant  this  our 
petition,  we  shall  be  bound  to  pra3'se  God  for  3'our  tender  com- 
passion toward  this  our  poore  brother  " 

Peter  Bulkeley 
John  Jones 
Richard  Griffin 

Simon  Willard  Joseph  Wheeller 

Robert  Merriam  Thomas  Foxe 

Thomas  Wheeler  William  busse 

George  Wheeler  IIexry  Farwell 

Robert  Fletcher  James  Hosmer 

Luke  Potter  John  Graves. 

1  Mass.  Records,  i.  2.52.     And  see  Winthrop  and  Lechford. 


CONCORD   IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  29 

Such  a  petition  was  entitled  to  be  considered  in 
the  spirit  that  dictated  it,  but  the  application  found 
no  pity  in  the  breast  of  that  iron  man,  John  Endicott. 
The  same  hand  that  tore  the  cross  from  the  English 
flag  wrote  these  words  on  the  face  of  the  petition  : 

"  The  case  appeares  to  the  Magistrates  to  be  now  past  helpe 
through  his  own  obstinacye  ;  but  for  the  over  plus  upon  sale  of 
the  distresse,  he  or  his  wife  may  have  it,  when  they  will  call  for 
it." 

Jo  :  Endecott  Gov'  " 

Indorsements  :    "  The  5*  of  the  4*'^  moneth  —  1644 
"  The  petit°  of  Ambrose  Martyn  of  Concord. 
Ordered  by  the  q^^"  co't." 

The  records  of  the  County  Court  assure  us  that 
the  "  overplus  "  was  never  called  for.^ 

Compared  with  other  writings  of  the  time,  the 
letter  of  the  church  is  remarkably  clear,  almost  ele- 
gant, in  style,  and  in  its  tone  well  calculated  to 
accomplish  its  purpose.  More  than  this,  it  is  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  more  enlightened  humanity 
of  the  present  time,  and  shows  conclusively  that, 
at  that  early  day,  the  virtues  of  a  tolerant  spirit 
and  a  forgiving  charity  were  highly  esteemed  by  the 

1  "Whereas  it  hath  been  declared  to  this  court  that  there  was  in 
bouse  and  land  at  Concord  to  the  vallue  of  twelve  pounds  left  in  the 
handes  of  Moses  Wheat  &  Thomas  ffox  by  Ambros  Martin  deceased, 
which  hath  remained  in  their  handes  about  nine  or  ten  yeares,  It  is 
ordered  by  this  court  that  it  shall  be  divided  in  mannr  following,  viz: 
in  an  equall  division  between  the  wife  of  Saml  RainJ"  &  Jno  Rogers 
to  be  payd  by  the  above  named  parties  with  addition  of  foure  pounds 
for  the  forbearance."     Records,  June  20,  1G54. 


30  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

people  of  this  town,  whose  "  religion  was  sweetness 
and  peace  amidst  toil  and  tears."  ^ 

The  prosecutions  of  Mr.  John  Hoar  and  Dr.  Philip 
Read  occurred  about  thirty  years  after  the  trouble 
with  Martin,  at  a  time  when  the  less  amiable  char- 
acteristics of  Puritanism  were  more  marked  here  as 
well  as  elsewhere.  The  cases  are  worthy  of  mention 
because  these  men  were,  respectively,  the  earliest 
representatives  in  Concord  of  the  legal  and  medical 
professions,^  and  because  their  experiences  serve  to 
show  us  the  high  consideration  in  which  the  persons 
and  office  of  the  ministers  were  generally  held.  That 
the  proceedings  against  these  citizens,  based  in  one 
instance  upon  mere  idle  words,  and  in  the  other  upon 
an  opinion  expressed  in  the  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion of  healing,  were  calculated  to  give  permanent 
strength  to  any  class  of  men  in  a  thoughtful  com- 
munity, may  well  be  doubted ;  but  the  sincerity  of 
the  prosecutors  cannot  be  questioned.  They  hon- 
estly believed  that  adverse  criticism  of  men  whom 
they  looked  upon  as  set  apart  in  a  peculiar  manner 
for  the  performance  of  duties  especially  sacred,  was, 
in  effect,  an  attack  upon  religion  itself,  which  was  the 
corner-stone  of  the  commonwealth.  The  fault  was 
in  their  logic,  not  in  their  hearts. 

Hoar  was  an  eccentric  lawyer,  well  known,  and 


1  Emerson's  Historical  Discourse. 

2  William  Buss  and  Jonathan  Prescott  were  described  by  the  addi- 
tion '' chirurgeon,"  the  exact  signification  of  which,  as  applied  to 
them,  is  not  known. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  31 

correspondingly  disliked,  by  the  authorities,  as  a  man 
of  independent  thought  and  a  facile  tongue,  which 
was  continually  making  trouble  for  him.  Whether 
he  held  any  peculiar  theological  or  doctrinal  views, 
which  in  our  day  would  be  considered  entitled  to 
respectful  consideration,  or  merely  gave  vent  to  feel- 
ings of  irritation  against  those  who  were  unfriendly 
to  him,  is  uncertain ;  but  his  courage  and  kindness 
of  heart  were  unquestionable,  and,  as  will  appear,  he 
was  preeminent  among  his  fellows  in  public  spirit.^ 

About  1667,  Philip  Read,  who  wrote  himself 
"  Physitian,"  married  the  daughter  of  Richard 
Rice,  settled  near  his  father-in-law  at  the  easterly 
end  of  the  town,  and  practised  his  profession  in  Con- 
cord, Cambridge,  Watertown,  and  Sudbury.  A  flood 
of  litigation  descended  upon  him  in  1670,  because 
he  expressed  an  unfavorable  opinion  of  Mr.  Edward 
Bulkeley's  powers  as  a  preacher,  in  comparison  with 
Mr.  Estabrook,^  and  for  saying  when  called  to  attend 

1  For  uttering  complaints  that  justice  was  denied  him  in  the  courts, 
he  was  compelled,  in  1G65,  to  give  a  bond  for  his  good  behavior,  and 
was  "  disabled  to  plead  any  cases  but  his  oune  in  this  jurisdiction." 
Mass.  Records,  iv.  pt.  ii.  292.  In  1668,  he  was  fined  £10  for  saying 
"  at  Ensigne  Will"!  Busse  his  house  that  the  Blessing  which  his  Master 
Bulkely  pronounced  in  dismissing  the  publique  Assembly  in  the  Meet- 
ing-house was  no  better  than  vane  babling."  Subsequently,  on  two 
occasions  at  least,  he  was  summoned  into  court  to  answer  "for  neg- 
lecting the  public  worship  of  God  on  the  Lord's  days."  County  Court 
Files,  1668,  1675. 

2  He  said  that  he  could  preach  as  well  as  Mr.  Bulkeley,  who  was 
called  by  none  but  a  company  of  blockheads  who  followed  the  plow- 
tail,  and  was  not  worthy  to  carry  Mr.  Estabrook's  books  after  him.  It 
is  amusing  to  see  what  trifles  were  thought  to  endanger  the  welfare  of 
church  and  state. 


32  CONCORD  m  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

a  female  patient,  that  he  thought  her  illness  was 
caused  by  standing  too  long  during  the  ceremony  of 
administering  the  Lord's  Supper.  When  charged  in 
court  with  these  offences,  he  fearlessly  asserted  his 
right  to  be  represented  by  counsel,  but  his  applica- 
tion to  that  end  was  refused.  He  was  fined  £20, 
and  for  a  time  found  it  more  agreeable  to  live  else- 
where.   . 

Note.  Old  Bounds.  —  A  map  coutained  in  Bond's  Genealogies 
and  History  of  Watertown,  shows  what  purports  to  be  the  southeastern 
corner  of  the  Concord  grant.  Many  reasons  might  be  given  to  prove 
the  inaccuracy  of  the  map  in  this  respect,  but  one  will  suffice.  The 
old  Garfield  estate,  now  occupied  by  Francis  A.  "Wheeler,  and  lying 
on  the  eastern  and  southern  borders  of  Beaver  Pond,  in  the  town  of 
Lincoln,  was  conveyed,  in  the  year  1712,  by  Benjamin  Garfield,  of 
Watertown,  to  his  son  Thomas,  of  the  same  town.  The  land  is  de- 
scribed as  being  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  situated  in  Water- 
town,  and  is  bounded  on  the  west  "  with  the  Line  between  Water- 
town  and  Concord."  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  16,  f.  324.  Eight  years 
afterwards,  Thomas  bought  of  Nathaniel  Ball,  of  Concord,  sixteen 
acres  of  upland  and  swamp  adjoining  the  farm,  and  bounded  easterly 
upon  Weston  line  [the  old  Watertown  line],  westerly  and  southerly 
upon  the  brook  running  from  Beaver  Pond,  and  northerly  upon  the 
pond.     Ibid.     L.  22,  f.  386. 

The  map  above  referred  to  shows  the  eastern  line  of  Concord  at  a 
considerable  distance  to  the  westward  of  Beaver  Pond,  instead  of 
grazing  its  eastern  border. 


CHAPTER  II. 

"A  shepherd  of  mankind  indeed, 
Who  loved  liis  charge,  but  never  loved  to  lead ; 
One  whose  meek  flock  the  people  joyed  to  be, 
Not  lured  by  any  cheat  of  birth, 
But  by  his  clear-grained  human  worth, 
And  brave  old  wisdom  of  sincerity." 

Lowell. 

Eaklt  Trials.  —  Withdrawal  of  Mr.  Jones. — Loss  of  the 
Leaders.  —  Rev.  Peter  Bulkelet,  Simon  Willard, 
Thomas  Flint. — The  Kentish  Influence. 

It  is  impossible  to  over-estimate  the  trials  and  actual 
suffering  that  were  endured  by  the  pioneer  families. 
The  writings  of  Mr.  Higginson  and  others,  which 
were  prepared  here  for  publication  in  the  old  coun- 
try, were  calculated  to  invest  the  Englishman  of  that 
day  with  the  notion  that,  in  soil  and  natural  resources 
generally.  New  England  was  something  like  what  we 
understand  California  to  be.  Here,  as  elsewhere  in 
the  colony,  a  close  grappling  with  the  facts  was  fol- 
lowed by  inevitable  disappointment.  The  meadows 
were  wet,^  the  soil  was  found  to  require  hard  labor 

1  The  following  order  was  passed  September  8,  1636:  — 

"Whereas  the  inhabitants  of  Concord  are  purposed  to  abate  the 
falls  in  the  ryver  upon  w^i  their  towne  standeth,  whearby  they  conceive 
such  townes  as  shalbee  hereafter  planted  above  them  vpon  the  said 

3 


34  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 


to  make  and  keep  it  productive,  and  it  is  written, 
that  the  people  were  "  forced  to  cut  their  bread  very 
thin  for  a  long  season." 

It  cannot  be  wondered  at  that  some  sickened  and 
died  by  reason  of  the  unaccustomed  hardships  and 
severity  of  the  winter  weather,  while  others  lost  all 
faith  in  the  success  of  the  enterprise,  sold  their 
estates  for  a  little,  and  departed.  The  cattle  died, 
wolves  preyed  upon  the  herds;  homesickness  and 
fear  of  an  Indian  attack  increased  the  burden  of 
their  lives,  so  that  it  became  well-nigh  greater 
than  they  could  bear.^     Dissensions  arose,  at   last. 


ryver  shall  receive  benefit  by  reason  of  their  charge  &  labor,  it  is 
therefore  ordered,  that  such  towns  or  ffarmes  as  shalbee  planted  above 
them  shall  contribute  to  the  inhabitants  of  Concord  pportionable 
both  to  their  charge  &  adventure,  &  according  to  the  benefit  that  the 
said  townes  or  ffarmes  shall  receive  by  the  dreaning  of  their  medows." 
Mass.  Records,  i.  178. 

Again,  on  November  13th,  1644,  commissioners  were  appointed  by 
the  General  Court  "  to  set  some  order  which  may  conduce  to  the  better 
impveing  of  the  said  medow  &  saveing  and  ^serving  of  the  hay 
there  gotten  eith^  by  draining  the  same,  or  otherwise,  &  to  ^ypor- 
tion  the  charges  layd  out  about  it  as  equally  &  iustly  (only  upon 
those  that  oweth  the  land)  as  they  in  their  wisdomes  shall  see  meete." 
Ibid.,  ii.  89,  99. 

A  committee  was  appointed  May  15,  1672  "  in  answer  to  inhab- 
itants of  Concord  &  Sudbury  petition  to  prevent  damage  by  overfloing 
on  ye  meadowes." 

1  AVinthrop  (ii.  36)  records  the  following  incident  under  date  of 
April  13,  1641:  — 

"Upon  the  Lord's  day  at  Concord  two  children  were  left  at  home 
alone,  one  lying  in  a  cradle,  the  other  having  burned  a  cloth,  and  fear- 
ing its  mother  should  see  it,  thrust  it  into  a  hay-stack  by  the  door,  (the 
fire  not  being  quite  out)  whereby  the  hay  and  house  were  burned  and 
the  child  in  the  cradle  before  they  came  from  the  meeting." 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  35 

that   threatened    the    very  existence    of  the    plan- 
tation. 

The  difficulty,  not  to  say  impossibility,  of  support- 
ing two  ministers,  was  very  soon  felt,  and  Winthrop 
says,^  that  on  July  28,  1642, — 

"  Some  of  the  elders  went  to  Concord,  being  sent  for  by  the 
church  there  to  advise  with  them  about  the  maintenance  of  their 
elders,  «SiC.  They  found  them  wavering  about  removal,  not  find- 
ing their  plantation  answerable  to  their  expectation,  and  the 
maintenance  of  two  elders  too  heavy  a  burden  for  them.  The 
elders'  advice  was  that  they  should  continue  and  wait  upon  God, 
and  be  helpful  to  their  elders  in  labor  and  what  they  could,  and 
all  to  be  ordered  by  the  deacons,  (whose  office  had  not  formerly 
been  improved  this  way  amongst  them,)  and  that  the  elders 
should  be  content  with  what  means  the  church  was  able  at  pres- 
ent to  afl!brd  them,  and  if  either  of  them  should  be  called  to  some 
other  place,  then  to  advise  with  other  churches  about  removal." 

Glowing  accounts,  received  from  those  who  had 
gone  farther  westward,  of  better  things  to  be  at- 
tained in  the  Connecticut  valley,  served  to  increase 
the  prevailing  uneasiness,  and  in  1644,  ere  ten  years 
had  passed  over  the  little  settlement,  Mr.  Jones 
removed  to  Fairfield,  on  Long  Island  Sound,  with 
about  one  eighth  of  the  entire  population.  The 
persons  whose  names  follow  are  either  known  or 
supposed  to  have  accompanied  Mr.  Jones  :  Thomas 
Doggett,  John  Evarts,  Jonathan  Mitchell,  William 
Odell,  John  Barron,  John  Tompkins,  Benjamin  Tur- 
ney,  Joseph  Middlebrook,  James  Bennett,  William 
Coslin  (  or  Costin),  Ephraim  Wheeler,  and  Thomas 
Wheeler. 

1  History,  ii.  88. 


36  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

We  are  left  in  the  dark  as  to  the  merits  of  the 
controversy  that  led  to  this  secession,  and  it  is  as 
well  so/ 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  immediate  cause  for 
the  removal  of  Mr.  Jones  and  his  friends,  it  is  certain 
that  the  defection  was  a  misfortune  from  which  Con- 
cord found  it  hard  to  recover.  The  separation  was, 
however,  inevitable,  and  in  the  end,  doubtless,  ben- 
eficial; for,  in  1635,  the  proportion  of  the  number  of 
clergymen  in  Massachusetts  to  the  entire  population, 
was  greater  than  in  any  other  age  or  country  of 
which  we  have  any  knowledge.  They  were,  almost 
without  exception,  men  of  high  character,  education, 
and  talents;  but  the  difficulty  lay  in  the  fact  that 
they  were  non-producers  in  a  community  where  the 
paramount  and  ever  pressing  question  was,  how  to 
produce  the  necessaries  of  life  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  supply  the  daily  wants  of  the  family.  No  one 
would  willingly  detract  from  the  high  consideration 
due  them  as  ministers  to  the  better  instincts  and  aspi- 
rations of  their  people.  State  in  the  strongest  terms 
the  value  of  their  presence  and  influence  among  the 


1  Mather's  account  of  the  trouble,  as  might  be  expected,  is  far  from 
satisfying.  He  attributes  to  Mr.  Bulkeley  some  hastiness  of  speech, 
and  "  importunate  pressing  a  piece  of  charity  disagreeable  to  the  will 
of  the  ruling  elder"  (Magnalia,  iii.  c.  10);  by  which  term  he  is  sup- 
posed to  refer  to  Mr.  Jones,  but  ruling  elders  were  selected  from  the 
laymen. 

The  pious  Johnson,  writing  of  these  times,  says:  "  And  verily  the 
edge  of  their  appetite  was  greater  to  spirituall  duties  at  their  first  com- 
ing in  time  of  wants,  than  afterward." 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  37 

colonists,  —  the  problem  was  still  to  be  solved.  The 
wolf  at  the  door  was  first  to  be  met,  and  other 
considerations  were,  not  unnaturally,  forced  to  yield 
their  claims  for  the  time. 

Concord  was  not  alone  in  this  respect ;  for,  under 
similar  circumstances  and  for  like  reasons,  Hooker 
and  his  followers  abandoned  Cambridge,  to  become 
the  founders  of  Hartford.  Of  the  earliest  grad- 
uates of  Harvard  College,  a  very  large  proportion 
qualified  themselves  to  become  ministers ;  but  it 
is  amusing  to  find  that,  for  lack  of  employment  on 
this  side  of  the  water,  some  went  to  England  to  seek 
their  fortune.  Mr.  Bulkeley's  son  John,  a  member 
of  the  first  class  that  graduated, —  the  class  of  1642, — 
took  part  in  this  retrograde  movement.^ 

The  population  of  the  town,  in  1644,  consisted  of 
about  fifty  families.  "  Their  buildings,"  says  John- 
son, "  are  conveniently  placed,  chiefly  in  one  straite 
street  under  a  sunny  banke  in  a  low  levell.  Their 
herd  of  great  cattell  are  about  three  hundred."  In 
1640,  their  exemption  from  public  rates  having 
ceased,  the  tax  assessed  upon  Concord  was  £50  ; 
and  since,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  money,  this  tax 
was  payable  in  cattle  or  produce,  Simon  Willard, 
Thomas  Brooke,  and  William  Wood,  were  appointed 
by  the  Court  a  committee  "  for  valuing  horses,  mares, 
cowes,  oxen,  goats,  &  hoggs  "  in  Concord.^ 

The  following  petition  was  presented,  September 

^  Winthrop,  ii.  294;  Hutchinson,  i.  107,  note. 
2  Mass.  Records,  i.  291,  295. 


38  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

7,  1643/  by  some  who  joined  the  plantation  in  its 
fiftli  year  :  — 

"Whereas  your  humble  petitioners  came  into  this  country 
about  four  years  agoe,  and  have  since  then  lived  at  Concord, 
where  we  were  forced  to  buj'^  what  now  we  have,  or  the  most  of 
it,  the  convenience  of  the  town  being  before  given  out :  3"0ur 
petitioners  having  been  brought  up  in  husbandry,  of  children, 
finding  the  lands  about  the  town  very  barren,  and  the  meadows 
very  wet  and  unuseful,  especially  those  we  now  have  interest  in  ; 
and  knowing  it  is  3'our  desire  the  lands  might  be  subdued,  have 
taken  pains  to  search  out  a  place  on  the  north  west  of  our  town, 
where  we  do  desire  some  reasonable  quantitie  of  land  may  be 
granted  unto  us  which  we  hope  maj'  in  time  be  joined  to  the 
farms  already  laid  out  there  to  make  a  village.  And  so  desiring 
God  to  guide  you  in  this  and  all  other  your  weighty  occasions, 
we  rest  your  humble  petitioners." 

Thomas  Wheeler 
Timothy  Wheeler 
Ephraim  Wheeler 
Thomas  Wheeler,  Jr. 
Roger  Draper 
Richard  Lettin. 

Indorsed  :  "  We  think  some  quantitie  of  land  ma}^  be  granted 
them  provided  that  within  two  j'ears  they  make  some  good  im- 
provement of  it." 

The  following  petition,  presented  May  14,  1645, 
speaks  for  all  the  citizens  :  — 

"To  the  Wor:  11  Governor,  Deputy  Governor,  with  the 
rest  of  the   Assistants   and   Deputies    of  the   Court  now  as- 

1  This  petition  and  the  one  immediately  following  are  reprinted 
from  Shattuck's  History  of  Concord  (pp.  11-17).  Mr.  Shattuck  must 
have  had  the  originals,  but  I  have  been  unable  to  find  any  trace  of 
them. 


CONCOED  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  39 

sembled,  The  humble  petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  Concord 
sheweth : 

"  That  whereas  we  have  lived  most  of  us  at  Concord  since  our 
coming  over  into  these  parts,  and  are  not  conscious  unto  our- 
selves that  we  have  been  grosly  negligent  to  imploj^  that  talent 
God  hath  put  into  our  hands  to  our  best  understanding  ;  Neither 
have  wee  found  an}^  special  hand  of  God  gone  out  against  us, 
only  the  povertie  and  meannesse  of  the  place  we  live  in  not 
answering  the  labour  bestowed  on  it,  together  with  the  badness 
and  weetnes  of  the  meadowes,  hath  consumed  most  of  the  estates 
of  those  who  have  hitherto  borne  the  burden  of  charges  amongst 
us,  and  therewith  the  bodily  abilities  of  mane3\  This  being  soe 
eminent  above  what  hath  befallen  other  plantations,  hath  occa- 
sioned many  at  severall  times  to  depart  from  us,  and  this  last 
summer,  in  the  end  it,  a  seventh  or  eighth  part  of  the  Towne 
went  to  the  southward  with  Mr.  Jones,  and  many  more  resolved 
to  go  after  them,  so  that  maney  houses  in  the  Towne  stand  voyde 
of  Inhabitants,  and  more  are  likel}'  to  be  ;  and  we  are  confident 
that  if  conscience  had  not  restrained,  fearing  the  dissolution  of 
the  Towne  by  their  removeall,  very  many  had  departed  to  one 
place  or  other  where  Providence  should  have  hopefully  promised 
a  livelihood. 

"  This  our  condition  we  thought  it  our  duty  to  informe  you  of, 
fearing  least  if  more  go  from  us  we  shall  neither  remayne  as  a 
congregation  nor  a  towne,  and  then  such  as  are  most  unwilling 
to  depart,  whiles  there  remayne  any  hopes  of  ordinance  amongst 
us,  will  be  enforced  to  leave  the  place,  which  if  it  should  come 
to  pass,  wee  desire  this  may  testify  on  the  behalf  of  such,  it  was 
not  a  mynd  unsatisfyed  with  what  was  convenient,  which  occa- 
sioned them  to  depart,  but  meerly  to  attaine  a  subsistence  for 
themselves  and  such  as  depend  on  them,  and  to  enjoy  ordinances. 
If  it  be  sayd,  wee  may  go  to  other  places  and  meete  with  as 
many  difficulties  as  here,  experience  herein  satisfies  us  against 
many  reasons.  Such  as  hardly  subsisted  with  us,  and  were  none 
of  the  ablest  amongst  us,  either  for  labour  or  ordering  their 
occasions,  have  much  thriven  in  other  places  the}'  have  removed 
unto. 


40  COXCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL   PERIOD. 

"  Our  humble  request  is  3'ou  would  be  pleased  to  consider 
how  unable  we  are  to  beare  with  our  brethren  the  common 
charges,  the  premises  considered. 

Richard  Griffin  Robert  Fletcher 

Joseph  Wheeler  Walter  Edmonds 

Timothy  Wheeler  William  Hunt 

George  Wheeler  William  Wood 

John  Smedly  James  Blood 

Thomas  Bateman  Joseph  Middlebrooke 

These  in  the  name  of  the  rest." 

Indorsed:  "We  conceive  the  petitioners  of  Concord  should 
(in  consideration  of  the  reasons  alledged  in  this  petition)  be  con- 
sidered in  their  rates  ;  but  how  much,  wee  leave  to  those  that  are 
appoynted  to  assess  the  several  towns  when  any  levie  is  to  be 
made." 

The  town's  rate  this  year  was  reduced  to  £15, 
payable  in  cattle,  corn,  beaver,  or  money  at  the  op- 
tion of  the  town ;  ^  and  the  following  restriction  was 
placed  upon  removal  from  the  frontier  towns:  — 

"In  regard  of  the  great  danger  y*^  Concord,  Sudberry,  & 
Dedham  wilbe  exposed  unto,  being  inland  townes  &  but  thinly 
peopled,  it  is  ordered,  that  no  man  now  inhabiting  &  settleed 
in  any  of  the  said  townes  (whether  married  or  single)  shall  re- 
move to  any  other  towne  without  the  allowance  of  a  magistrate, 
or  other  selectmen  of  that  towne,  untill  it  shall  please  God  to 
settle  peace  againe,  or  some  other  wa}'  of  safety  to  the  said 
townes,  Whereupon  this  Co^t,  or  the  councell  of  the  coinon 
weale,  shall  set  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  townes  at  their  former 
liberty."  ^ 

The  town  was  in  such  straits  that,  in  October,  on 
the  petition  of  the  inhabitants.  Lieutenant  Willard 

1  Mass.  Records,  iii.  27,  28.  2  /^,;^,^  n  joo. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  41 

was  excused  bj  the  General  Court  from  further 
attendance/  for  the  purpose,  it  may  be  guessed,  that 
he  might  go  home  to  put  his  stout  shoulder  to  the 
wheel,  and  by  cheering  words  raise  the  drooping 
spirits  of   his  neighbors. 

On  October  8,  1655,  the  town  lost  one  of  its  fore- 
most men  by  the  death  of  Thomas  Flint.  Two  years 
later,  Major  Willard  received,  as  a  reward  for  his 
distinguished  services  to  the  country,  a  grant  of  five 
hundred  acres  of  land,  which  he  selected  and  laid  out 
in  the  southerly  part  of  Groton.  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley 
died  March  9,  1659  -,  and  in  November  following. 
Major  Willard  sold  his  estate  in  Concord  to  Captain 
Thomas  Marshall,  of  Lynn,  and  removed  to  Lancaster, 
whither  he  had  previously  been  urged  to  go,  and 
where  he  filled  a  high  position.  Subsequently  he 
removed  to  Groton,  where  his  son  Samuel  was  settled 
as  minister ;  and  after  the  destruction  of  the  town  by 
the  Indians,  he  took  up  his  abode  at  Charlestown, 
where  he  died  April  24,  1676,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
one  years. 

Thus,  within  a  short  time,  the  town  was  deprived 
of  the  three  leading  men  of  the  first  generation. 
We  can  imagine  the  sad  retrospection  with  which 
the  survivors  of  the  original  company  beheld  the  oft 
repeated  visitations  by  which  their  number  was  being 
lessened ;  but  new  men  came  to  the  front,  and  the 
foot  of  progress  was  never  stayed  for  an  instant. 

Since  the  field  afforded  by  the  town  of  Concord 

^  Mass.  Records,  ii.  44. 


42  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

was  not  rich  enough  for  the  labors  of  two  ministers, 
fortunately  the  right  man  stayed,  free  to  execute 
what  his  judgment  dictated.  Without  doubt,  Rev. 
Peter  Bulkeley  ^  will  always  hold  the  most  prominent 
place  in  our  early  history.  Born  at  Odell,  January 
31,  1583,  of  gentle  lineage,  he  subsequently  became 
a  Fellow  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge,  and  a 
Bachelor  of  Divinity.  Succeeding  his  father  in  the 
parish  church,  he  preached  for  about  twenty  years, 
until,  with  others  of  the  non-conforming  clergymen, 
he  was  silenced  by  Archbishoj)  Laud,  and  turned 
his  face  toward  the  new  land  of  promise  lying  far 
away  to  the  westward. 

Distinguished  by  education,  wealth,  family  con- 
nection, and  religious  fervor,  his  position  was  a 
commanding  one  among  his  fellow  townsmen,  and 
of  no  small  eminence  in  the  colony.  At  times, 
wearied  and  disheartened  by  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence going  on  all  around  him,  his  mind  would  revert 
to  the  quiet  scenes  of  his  old  home  in  England,  where, 
in  obedience  to  the  voice  of  conscience,  he  had  re- 
linquished much  that  was  attractive  to  a  man  of  his 
training  and  temperament.  His  letters  show  that 
he  felt  the  loneliness  of  his  position.     He  says,  "  I 

1  As  regards  the  spelling  of  the  name,  a  curious  perplexity  is  caused 
by  the  careless  habits  of  writing  that  prevailed  in  the  old  times.  The 
first  Peter  uniformly,  it  is  believed,  wrote  the  name  as  printed  in  the 
text,  but  his  son  Edward  wrote  it  indifferently  "  Bulkely  "  or  "  Bulk- 
ley;  "  and  Edward's  son,  Major  Peter,  commonly,  but  not  invariably, 
used  the  form  sanctioned  by  his  grandfather.  However  spelled,  the 
name  was  undoubtedly  pronounced  as  if  written  Bucldey. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  43 

am  here  shut  up,  and  do  neither  see  nor  hear ;  "  ^  and 
again,  "  I  lose  much  in  this  retired  wilderness  in 
which  I  live."  ^  With  advancing  age  and  increasing 
physical  weakness  came  distrust  of  "  the  multitude," 
accompanied  by  misgivings  that  the  churches  were 
tending  towards  too  great  liberty  in  religious  matters, 
but  his  faith  in  the  future  of  his  own  town  was  un- 
shaken until  "  the  spirit  struck  the  hour,"  and  the 
good  man  was  released  from  earthly  trials.  Like 
the  great  Jewish  leader  whose  example  he  loved  to 
follow,  he  was  laid  to  rest  without  epitaph  or  me- 
morial stone, "  and  no  man  knoweth  his  sepulchre 
unto  this  day."  ^ 

Very  different  but  quite  as  interesting  character- 
istics are  presented  in  the  person  of  Simon  Willard, 
who,  equally  with  the   first  minister,  is   entitled  to 

1  To  Thomas  Shepard,  Feb.  12,  1639.     See  Shattuck,  1.54. 

2  To  John  Cotton,  Dec.  17,  1640.  The  original  letter  is  pre- 
served among  the  Shattuck  papers,  in  the  library  of  the  New  England 
Historic  Genealogical  Society,  in  Boston.  A  comparison  -with  the 
copy  printed  in  Shattuck's  History  (p.  154),  discloses  a  serious  error; 
for  the  printed  copy  makes  Mr.  Bulkeley  say  that  there  is  warrant  in 
the  Word  for  making  the  doors  of  the  church  narrower,  whereas  in 
fact  he  said  that  the  remedy  under  discussion  could  not  be  applied 
without  making  those  doors  narrower  than  was  warranted,  —  which  is 
quite  a  different  matter.  For  "narrower.  This  we  have  warrant 
for,"  read  "  narrower  than  we  have  warrant  for." 

3  Dr.  Ripley,  in  his  "  Half-Century  Sermon,"  said  :  "  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  the  three  first  ministers,  viz.  Peter  Bulkeley, 
Edward  Bulkeley,  and  Joseph  Estabrook,  were  laid  in  the  same  tomb." 
Again,  in  the  same  discourse  :  "  If  the  spot  [Mr.  Peter  Bulkeley 's 
grave]  can  be  ascertained  (which  is  probable) ,  I  would  that  at  least  a 
plain  block  of  granite  should  there  be  placed,  with  his  name  indelibly 
inscribed." 


44  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

honor  as  founder  of  the  town.  Knowledge  of  men, 
skill  in  surveying  lands,  experience  gained  by  trading 
with  the  natives,  were  qualities  that  fitted  him  in  a 
peculiar  manner  to  take  the  lead  in  locating  the  land 
granted  by  the  colonial  government,  and  fortifying 
the  title  by  peaceful  negotiations  with  the  Indian 
occupants.  As  deputy  and  assistant  he  was  well 
known  in  the  colony,  and  by  the  aid  of  his  influence 
with  those  in  power,  the  controversy  with  Watertown 
about  the  eastern  boundary  was  brought  to  a  favor- 
able termination. 

As  captain  of  the  train-band,  Willard  directed  the 
military  spirit  of  his  neighbors  when  military  dis- 
tinction was  second  only  to  that  of  the  church.  He 
surveyed  the  lands  allotted  to  the  settlers,  made 
their  deeds,  was  arbitrator  in  their  controversies, 
kept  their  records,  and,  last  office  of  all,  settled  their 
estates  after  they  were  dead.  A  person  like  this,  — 
useful  in  any  community,  at  any  stage  of  its  history, 
—  was  indispensable  to  the  plantation  at  Musketa- 
quid.  We  shall  hear  of  Willard  again,  holding  high 
command  in  the  Indian  wars,  and  affording  much- 
needed  assistance  to  his  former  townsmen. 

It  will  always  be  one  of  Mr.  Bulkeley's  strongest 
claims  to  our  veneration,  that,  recognizing  the  su- 
preme value  of  qualities  not  his  own,  he  gave  gener- 
ous encouragement  and  active  co-operation  in  aid  of 
the  plans  devised  by  the  robust  mind  of  his  friend 
and  parishioner.  Neither  could  have  been  spared; 
for  without   Willard,  the   shrewd,  practical  man  of 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  45 

affairs,  the  settlement  might  never  have  been  at- 
tempted ;  but  after  the  enterprise  was  begun,  the 
end  might  easily  have  come  in  discouragement  and 
loss,  had  it  not  been  for  the  pious  ministrations, 
and  private  as  well  as  public  benefactions,  of  Mr. 
Bulkeley. 

Another  distinguished  citizen,  Mr.  Thomas  Flint, 
brought  with  him  from  Matlock,  —  a  charming  place, 
not  unknown  to  American  travellers,  —  two  thou- 
sand pounds  sterling,^  a  sum  which,  measured  by  its 
purchasing  power,  would  be  equivalent  to  a  much 
greater  amount  at  the  present  day.  This  fortune 
was  liberally  expended  in  building  up  the  infant 
settlement.  His  entrance  into  public  life  as  a 
deputy  was  emj^hasized  by  an  order  passed  March 
12,  1638,  that 

"  the  ffi'eemen  of  Concord,  &  those  that  were  not  free,  -w^^ 
had  hand  hi  the  vndewe  election  of  M*"  FUnt,  are  fined  6.  8*^  a 
peece."^ 

In  1639,  he  was  appointed  to  act  with  Simon  Wil- 
lard  and  Richard  Griffin  as  commissioners,  "  to  have 
the  ending  of  small  matters  this  year,"  —  a  local 
tribunal  invested  with  jurisdiction  of  minor  offences 
and  civil  controversies  involving  small  amounts. 
When  assistant,  in  1649,  he  showed  the  austerity 
of  the  Puritan  by  joining  with  Governor  Endicott 

1  £4,000,  according  to  Shattuck.  But  Palfrey  (Hist.  New  Eng- 
land, i.  613,  note)  and  Savage  (Winthrop,  II.  57,  note)  both  prefer 
the  statement  of  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley,  who  gives  the  smaller  sum. 
See  Mr.  Bulkeley's  Letter,  3  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Colls.,  i.  47. 

2  Mass.  Records,  i.  221. 


46  CONCORD   m  THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD. 

in  a  protest  against  the  wearing  of  long  hair,  as  "  a 
thing  uncivil  and  unmanly,  whereby  men  doe  de- 
forme  themselves,  and  offend  sober  and  modest  men, 
and  doe  corrupt  good  manners."  ^ 

Among  other  dignities,  Flint  enjoyed  the  distinc- 
tion of  being  empowered  "  to  marry  in  Concord  and 
Sudbury." 

The  quiet,  uneventful  lives  of  the  majority  of  the 
early  settlers,  although  interesting  in  every  minute 
detail  to  the  genealogist  or  family  historian,  could 
not  be  expected  to  furnish  much  that  would  hold  the 
attention  of  the  general  reader.  But  we  shall  act 
wisely  if  we  rescue  from  oblivion,  and  preserve  in 
some  way,  every  bit  of  information  that  can  be 
obtained  concerning  them.  Their  names  will  occur 
frequently  in  the  following  pages,  and  the  more  one 
can  learn  of  the  bearers  of  those  names,  the  more 
reason  he  will  have  to  honor  the  earnest  simplicity 
that  characterized  their  lives. 

Theirs  was  not  the  pride  of  birth,  but  they  fairly 
represented,  in  their  stern  Puritan  way,  the  best  of 
the  bone  and  sinew  of  English  yeomanry,  —  possessors 
in  a  high  degree  of  that  pluck  and  endurance  that 
seem  destined  eventually  to  bring  the  greater  part 
of  the  world  under  the  dominion  of  the  Ang-lo  Saxon. 

The  Kentish  infusion  was  very  strong  in  the  early 
population  of  Concord,  and,  indeed,  of  Middlesex 
County.  General  Gookin,  of  Cambridge,  magistrate, 
warrior,  and  philanthropist;    Edward  Johnson,  the. 

1  Hutchinson,  i.  143. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  47 

founder  of  Woburn;  and  our  own  Major  Willard, 
were  conspicuous  instances  in  a  multitude  of  humbler 
men. 

It  was  matter  of  great  moment  to  America  that, 
instead  of  the  English  law  of  primogeniture,  New 
England  adopted  the  older  rule  of  the  common  law, 
by  virtue  of  which  all  the  children  succeeded  to  their 
father's  estate  by  equitable  division.  The  same  prin- 
ciple existed  under  a  modified  form  in  the  custom  of 
Kent  known  as  "  gavelkind,"  and  was  expressly  rec- 
ognized by  William  the  Conqueror.  In  Massachu- 
setts, the  law  gave  a  double  portion  to  the  eldest 
son,  but  in  other  respects  the  sons  and  daughters  in- 
herited equally. 

The  proud  distinction  of  the  Kentishmen  was  the 
tenacity  with  which  they  held  to  their  rights  and  cus- 
toms, and  the  unhesitating  courage,  regardless  of 
difficulties  or  consequences,  shown  in  their  defence. 
They  formed  the  foremost  rank  at  the  battle  of 
Hastings,  and  made  terms  with  the  Conqueror  at 
Swanscombe.^  Twenty  thousand  men  of  Kent  fol- 
lowed Jack  Cade  into  camp  on  Blackheath,  for  the 
avowed  purpose  of  punishing  evil  ministers  and 
redressing  the  grievances  of  the  people. 

^  The  men  of  Kent  were  never  subdued.  The  shield  of  the  county 
bears  an  unbridled  white  horse,  above  the  proud  motto  "Invicta." 
The  chorus  in  Thomas  D'  Urfey's  famous  "  Song  to  the  Brave  Men  of 
Kent  "  is  a  vigorous  expression  of  local  pride:  — 

"  Sing,  sing  in  praise  of  Men  of  Kent, 
So  loyal,  brave,  and  free ; 
'Mongst  Britain's  race,  if  one  surpass, 
A  man  of  Kent  is  he." 


48  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

It  is  by  no  accident  that  the  people  of  Middlesex 
County  have  been  equally  quick  to  rise  in  defence  of 
their  rights,  and  to  put  down  the  oppressor ;  for  the 
people  of  Middlesex  derive  their  origin,  in  great  part, 
from  the  freest  and  most  independent  of  English 
counties.  The  patriots  of  Concord  Bridge,  Lex- 
ington, and  Bunker  Hill  found  their  prototypes  at 
Hastings  and  Swanscombe. 


CHAPTER  III. 


"  They  added  ridge  to  valley,  brook  to  pond, 
And  sighed  for  all  that  bounded  their  domain." 

Emerson. 

The   New  Grant,    or    "  Concord    Village." 
Blood's   Farms. 


For  reasons  the  force  of  which  it  is  difficult  for  ns  to 
appreciate,  it  was  not  long  before  the  Concord  set- 
tlers, individually  and  collectively,  were  clamoring 
for  more  land.  "We  have  already  remarked  that 
Thomas  Wheeler  and  others,  who  came  to  Concord 
about  1639,  found  the  most  convenient  of  the  lands 
already  given  out,  and,  in  1643,  petitioned  for  a  grant 
of  land  on  the  northwest,  which  was  conceded  on 
condition  that  they  improved  the  grant  within  two 
years.^ 

Even  after  the  loss  of  population  caused  by  the 
withdrawal  of  Mr.  Jones,  land  that  is  now  the  most 
productive  in  town  was  then  deemed  inadequate  for 
the  few  families  remaining.  We  have  noticed,  in  the 
town's  petition  of  1645,  the  pathetic  account  of  "  the 
povertie  and  meannesse  of  the  place,"  "  the  badness 
and  weetnes  of  the  meadowes,"  the  loss  of  popula- 
tion and  resources,  and  the  prevalence  of  empty 
houses.^  The  petitioners  were  considered  in  their 
rates,    but   the   true   remedy   for   all    troubles   was 

1  Ante,  p.  38.  2  ^^^^^  p   39, 


50  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

thought  to  be  more  land,  and  petitions  to  that  end 
were  presented  in  1650  and  1651.  The  latter,  which 
lacks  signature  and  date,  is  here  given :  ^  — 

"To  tbe  much  honoured  governour,  the  Dei)ut3-governour, 
with  the  rest  of  the  Magistrates  and  the  deputies  of  the  generall 
Court  assembled  at  Boston,  the  humble  petition  of  the  Inhab- 
itants of  Concord.  Sheweth  that  whereas  wee  were  the  first 
that  in  this  Jurisdiction  began  an  Inland  plantation  where  the 
land  for  most  part  is  more  barren  than  upon  the  sea-coast,  and 
difficulties  greater  than  where  nearness  of  neighbourhood  affords 
a  supply  of  such  things  with  conveniency  as  such  beginnings 
stand  in  need  of-  Notwithstanding  wee  have  not  troubled  the 
Court  with  petitions  for  further  enlargement  only  the  last  yeare 
wee  petitioned  for  a  parcell  of  land  if  the  same  might  in  any 
measure  be  likely  to  make  a  village,  which  upon  the  request  of 
some  to  have  a  farme  there  wee  were  content  to  relinquish,  with 
which  farme  and  some  others  together  with  the  bounds  of  Water- 
town,  Sudbury,  and  the  last  grant  unto  Cambridge,  wee  have 
now  but  one  small  out  gate  left  open,  and  our  land  much  of  it 
being  pine  land  w''^  affords  very  little  feeding  for  cattel.  Now 
the  Lord  haveing  bestowed  upon  most  of  us  children,  which  wee 
had  rather  should  wrestle  with  difllculties  neare  unto  us  than  to 
send  them  into  more  remote  parts.  Our  humble  petition  unto 
the  Court  is :  they  would  be  pleased  to  grant  us  a  village  from 
the  farme  granted  the  last  yeare  unto  Mrs.  Hough  unto  the 
bounds  of  Sudbur}',  and  into  the  Contrey  foure  or  five  miles." 

Indorsements:  "  Concord  petition.  Referfi  to  y®  next  Ses- 
sion p  Curiam         16  8  51." 

"  The  Deputies  thinke  meete  to  graunte  this  petition  for  the 
space  of  lower  miles,  provided  that  they  plaunt  uppon  the  place 
which  they  desire  befour  any  others  doo  appeare 

WM  ToRREY  Clerk," 
"16  (8)  51.       Consented  to  by  the  magist«. 

Edward  Rawson        Secy." 

1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  112,  p.  397.  Erroneously  classed  with  the 
papers  of  the  year  1685. 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  51 

If  the  record  above  given  be  considered  evidence 
of  a  grant,  it  was  upon  the  express  condition  that  the 
petitioners  should  occupy  the  land  before  any  others ; 
and  before  anything  was  done  under  this  order  of  the 
Court,  Chelmsford  was  laid  out,  and  Nashoba  granted 
to  the  Indians.  A  new  petition,  or  a  renewal  of  the 
old  one  in  October,  1654,^  was  met  with  an  order 
that  they  should  make  a  return  into  court  of 
"  what  quantitie  of  land  yet  remaynes  vndisposed  of, 
which  they  desire."^  The  following  return^  was 
made :  — 

"  To  the  Honored  Generall  Court  assembled  at  Boston.  The 
returne  of  the  number  of  acres  of  land  granted  as  an  addition 
to  the  Towne  of  Concord  according  to  the  order  of  the  General 
Court  in  1654. 

"  Whereas  the  Court  was  pleased  to  graunt  to  our  Towne  a 
village  some  fouer  years  since  upon  condition  the}'  should  im- 
prove it  before  others,  but  neglecting  theire  opportunit}',  the 
plantation  of  Chelmsford  have  taken  a  good  parte  of  the  same, 
also  Nattatawants  having  a  plantation  granted  him  which  takes 
up  a  good  some  also,  we  whose  names  are  subscribed  have  taken 
a  survey  of  the  rest  remaj'ning,  and  wee  finde  about  seven  thou- 
sand acres  left  out,  of  which  Major  Willard  hath  two  thousand 
acres,  except  a  little  part  of  one  end  of  his  farme  which  Ij'es  in 
the  place  or  parcell  of  vacant  land,  that  was  since  given  to 
Shawshine,  this  tract  of  land  being  by  the  last  Court  granted  to 


1  Petition  of  Robert  and  Elizabeth  Blood  in  Mass.  Archives,  v. 
39,  p.  858. 

2  Mass.  Records,  ii.  364. 

8  What  follows  is  a  reprint  from  Shattuck  (History,  p.  38),  who 
appears  to  have  seen  a  copy  of  the  original,  attested  by  Secretary  Raw- 
son  "  as  a  true  copie  compared  with  original  on  file  as  it  was  exhib- 
ited to  the  Generall  Court,  May,  1655." 


52  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD, 

our  Towne  on  this  condition  that  at  this  Court  we  should  acquaint 
the  Court  of  the  quantitye  of  what  wee  have. 

Tho.  Brooke 
Timothy  Wheeler 
Joseph  Wheeler 
George  Wheeler 
George  Heaward 
John  Jones." 

On  the  23d  of  May,  1655,  the  followmg  order  was 

passed,  which  is  here  printed  from  the  Massachusetts 

Records,  vol.  iii.  p.  387  :  — 

"  Seuerall  of  the  inhabitants  of  Concord  pfering  a  petition 
for  the  graunt  of  some  land,  in  answer  whercvnto,  the  Court 
thinkes  meete  to  graunt  them  fine  thowsand  acors  in  the  place 
mentioned  in  their  pet,  P'vided  it  hinder  not  any  former 
graunts." 

An  order  which  seems  to  apply  to  the  same  sub- 
ject is  given  in  vol.  iv.  part  i.  p.  237,  under  date 
of  May  29,  1655,  as  follows :  — 

"In  ans''  to  the  peticon  of  the  inhabitants  of  Concord,  the 
Court  doth  graunt  them  five  thousand  acres  of  land  for  feed- 
ing, according  to  theire  peticon,  provided  it  hinder  not  an^' 
former  graunts." 

The    Indian   claim   to    the    New  Grant    was   met 

and  satisfied,  December  20th,  1660,  in  the  following 

manner :  ^  — 

"An  agrement  mad  betwene  the  Ingenes  of  Mashoba  and 
the  Towne  of  Concord  as  foloweth : 

"  In  Consideration,  for  the  last  grant  of  land  to  Concord,  b}^ 
the  genrall  Court  for  an  Inlargment  to  the  Towne ;  the  Towne 
of  Concord  doth  give  to  the  plantres  of  Mashoba  fiveteen  pounds 

^  Town  Records. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  53 

at  six  a  pem^  which  giueth  them  full  sertisfection  in  Witnes 
whereof  they  doe  set  to  there  hands,  this  20.  of  the  10.  m?  1660  ; 

In  the  psents  of,       the    raarke    — )    of   nssquan  :    the   marke    V    of 
Joseph  Wheler  mai'chnt  thorns,  the  marke    W   of  Wabatut.  the 

John  Shipard  marke  >— '  of  gret  James  natocotos  a  blind  man. 

John  Jones  the  marke   )  of  pompant  the  marke   5  of  gomps. 

John  Thomas;  and  John  tahatowon  " 

A  preliminary  survey  by  Thomas  Noyes  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  new  order,  reserving  two  thousand  acres 
out  of  the  number  actually  found  and  returned,  and 
granting  the  remaining  three  thousand.^ 

"Att  A  Gennerall  Court  held  at  Boston  11th  of  October 
1665 

"  In  Answer  to  the  petition  of  Concord  for  an  enlargement  of 
their  bounds :  This  Court  doe  Grant  them  a  tract  of  land  con- 
teyned  in  a  plott  returned  to  this  Court  under  the  hand  of 
Ensigne  No3'es  by  estimation  the  whole  being  about  five  thou- 
sand acres.  Whereof  the  Court  reserveth  two  thousand  acres 
to  be  la3'd  out  to  either  Indians  or  English  as  this  Court  shall 
see  meete  hereafter  to  dispose  and  grant  and  the  remaind"^  being 
about  three  thousand  acres  this  court  doe  grant  to  Concord  so 
as  the  same  doe  not  abridge  any  former  grant  made  by  this 
Court  and  It  is  ordered  that  Leiftenant  Beers  &  Leiftenant 
Noyes  lay  out  the  same  &  make  their  returne  to  the  next  Court 
of  Election."  ^ 

In  pursuance  of  this  order,  Richard  Beers  and 
Thomas  Noyes,  in  1666,  laid  out  the  New  Grant,  or 
Concord  Village,   as  it  was  called,  comprising   the 

1  It  is  not  so  clear  as  one  might  wish,  but  from  the  return  of  Beers 
and  Noyes  (post,  p.  54)  the  inference  may  be  drawn  that  the  three 
thousand  acres  here  spoken  of  were  in  addition  to  the  five  thousand 
granted  in  16.55. 

2  Mass.  Archives,  v.  39,  p.  860. 


54  CONCORD  IN   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

present  territory  of  Acton,  and  portions  of  Carlisle 
and  Littleton ;  and  made  their  return  the  following 
year.^ 

"  At  a  General  Court  of  Election  heald  at  Boston  15'^  of  May 
16G7  Ilumbl}'  sheweth  this  Honoi'*^  Court  tliat  we  Kichard  Beers 
of  Watertowne  and  Thomas  Noyes  of  Sudbury,  being  appointed 
to  La}'  out  &  measure  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Concord  a  Tract  or 
Tracts  of  Land,  next  adjoining  to  their  first  Grant  in  order  to 
which  (wee  the  aboves^)  did  Lay  out  &  measure  unto  the  Inhab- 
itants of  Concord  their  second  Grant  being  five  thousand  Acres 
of  Land  Granted  in  the  year  1655  next  Adjoining  to  their  first 
Grant,  Begining  at  the  southwest  Angle  of  their  old  Bounds  ex- 
tending their  s<i  Southerly  Line  uppon  a  norwest  point  four  degrees 
northerly  (according  to  the  meridian  compass)  two  miles  &  two 
hundred  &  eighty  Rods,  there  makeing  a  right  Angle  on  a  bare 
hill,  and  from  thence  a  line  upon  a  north  east  point  four  degrees 
easterly,  two  miles  one  halfe  &  fifty  Rods,  There  meeting  with 
Nashoba  Plantation  Line,  Running  the  Line  of  s<i  plantation  to 
their  Angle,  one  mile  one  Quarter  &  sixty  Rods,  nearest  hand 
upon  an  Easterly  point  there  makeing  a  Right  angle,  Runing  a 
Line  being  the  Line  of  the  Indian  plantation  Two  miles  one 
quarter  and  sixty  Rods,  there  being  Bounded  by  Chelmesford 
Line  and  Billerica  Line,  as  is  more  plainely  described  by  a  plott, 
in  which  plott  is  contained  nine  thousand  &  eight  hundred  acres 
of  Land,  one  thousand  &  eight  hundred  acres  being  formerly 
Granted  to  Major  Willard,  the  other  eight  thousand  being 
Granted  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Concord  &  Layd  out  the  5^^  of 
May,  66. 

Given  under  our  hands.  Richard  Beers, 

Thomas  Noyes  Surveyer. 

The  Court  Approves  of  this  Returne 

E.  R  S." 

1  The  return  is  printed  from  a  copy  attested  by  Secretary  Addington 
and  entered  upon  the  records  of  the  town. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  65 

The    town   voted,   January    27,    1668,    that    the 

Enlargement 

"shall  ley  for  a  ffree  Comon ;  to  the  $>sent  householdres  of 
Concord  ;  and  such  as  shall  hereafter,  be  approved  &  allowed  ; 
except  such  psell  or  ^sells  of  it  as  shall  be  thought  met  to 
make  farnies  for  the  use  &  bennifet  of  the  Towne." 

A  grant  was  made  to  Lieutenant  Joseph  Wheeler 
of  six  hundred  and  ten  acres  on  Chelmsford  line, 
lying  in  the  form  of  a  triangle,  the  point  towards 
the  northwest,  and  extending  southwest  to  Nashoba, 
southeast  to  Nas^oo;  Pond.  Wheeler  sold  this  in 
1678  to  Ralph  Shepard.^  Another  tract  was  occupied 
for  a  number  of  years  by  John  Law  and  Stephen 
Law,  as  tenants  of  the  town,  under  an  annual  rent 
of  "  one  Indian  corne,"  which  was  customarily  paid 
on  the  day  of  the  annual  town  meeting. 

At   the   same   meeting,  in    1668,  it  was   further 

agreed  that 

"  all  men  that  have  not  Comon  of  there  owne  for  there  Cattle, 
acording  to  the  Towne  order  shall  pay  6d.  a  best,  to  those  that 
have  Comon  to  lett  to  them  in  there  querter,  and  if  there  be  not 
Comon  to  let  them  ;  they  then  to  put  there  Cattle  elcewhere." 

One  year  later,  on  January  12,  1669,  a  lease  was 
made  to  Captain  Thomas  Wheeler,  for  the  term  of 
twenty-one  years,  of  two  hundred  acres  of  upland 
and  sixty  acres  of  meadow,  lying  west  of  Nashoba 
Brook  ;  in  consideration  of  which,  he  agreed  to  pay 
a  yearly  rent  of  £5  after  the  expiration  of  the  first 

1  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  7,  f.  201. 


56  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

seven  years,  and  to  build  a  house  forty  feet  in  length, 
eighteen  feet  wide,  and  twelve  feet  stud  "  covred 
with  shingles,  with  a  payer  of  Chimnes ; "  also  a  barn 
forty  feet  long,  twenty-four  feet  wide,  and  twelve 
feet  stud.  These  buildings  were  to  be  left  at  the 
end  of  the  term  for  the  use  of  the  town,  with  thirty 
acres  of  land  in  tillage  and  sufficiently  fenced. 

He  agreed  further,  and  this  was  the  main  purpose 
of  the  lease,  to  receive  and  pasture  the  dry  cattle 
belonging  to  the  townspeople,  not  to  exceed  one 
hundred  and  twenty  in  number,  nor  to  be  fewer  than 
eighty.  The  cattle  were  to  be  marked  by  their  own- 
ers, and  delivered  to  Captain  Wheeler  at  his  house ; 
and  the  price  was  fixed  at  two  shillings  a  head,  pay- 
able one  third  in  wheat,  one  third  in  rye  or  pease, 
and  one  third  in  Indian  corn.  The  owners  were 
to  "  keep  the  said  herd  twelve  sabboth  dayes  yearely, 
at  the  appointment,  &  acording  to  the  proportion  by 
the  said  Thomas  or  his  lieires  allotted." 

The  number  of  cattle  received  under  this  agree- 
ment fell  below  the  lowest  limit,  and  in  January, 
1673,  the  terms  of  the  contract  were  so  modified  that 
Captain  Wheeler  was  entitled  to  receive  one  shilUng 
per  head. 

In  1684,  when  the  depositions  already  referred  to 
were  taken,  it  was  thought  expedient  to  obtain  from 
the  Indians  new  and  formal  deeds  of  the  land  com- 
prised within  the  New  Grant.  The  deeds  then  taken 
are  given  below.     The  first  one  ^  relates  to  a  tract  of 

1  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  69,  f.  57. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  57 

one  thousand  acres,  forming  the  southerly  portion  of 
the  New  Grant. 

"  To  all  People  to  whom  these  presents  may  come,  Greeting 
Know  ye  that  We,  Mary  Neepanaum  John  Speen  and  Sarah 
Speen  Dorothy  Winnetow  Peter  Muckquamack  of  Natick  and 
James  Speen  &  Elizabeth  Speen  his  wife  of  Waymasset 
Indians  For  and  in  Consideration  of  a  valuable  sum  of  money 
to  us  in  hand  paid  by  Capt.  Timoth}^  Wheeler  Henry  Woodis 
James  Blood  and  John  Flint  The  Receipt  whereof  we  do  hereby 
acknowledge  and  thei'ewith  to  be  fully  satisfied  and  contented 
have  sold  and  by  these  presents  do  sell  aliene  enfeoffe  and  con- 
firm unto  the  said  Capt.  Timothy  Wheeler  Henry  Woodis  James 
Blood  &  John  Flint  of  Concord  in  the  Count}-  of  Middlesex  in 
the  Massachusetts  Colony  in  New  England  for  the  use  and 
behoof  of  themselves  and  the  rest  of  the  Proprietors  of  the 
said  Town  of  Concord  a  certain  Tract  or  parcel  of  Land  con- 
taining by  Estimation  a  Thousand  acres  be  the  same  more  or 
less  and  is  situate  lying  and  being  within  the  last  Grant  of  Land 
by  the  General  Court  to  the  said  Town  of  Concord  and  is 
bounded  Southeast  by  Sudbury  &  the  Land  of  Stow  alias 
[Pompasitticutt]  and  Northwest  by  the  said  Stow  running  by 
them  upon  that  Line  about  a  Mile  and  a  Quarter,  near  to  a  Hill 
by  the  Indians  called  Naaruhpanit  and  from  thence  by  a  strait 
Line  to  the  North  River  at  the  old  bounds  of  the  said  Town  of 
Concord  unto  them  the  said  Timothy  Wheeler  Henry  Woodis 
James  Blood  &  John  Flint  for  themselves  and  for  the  use  & 
behoof  of  the  Rest  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  said  Town  of 
Concord  to  them  their  heirs  assigns  and  successors  forever  and 
we  the  said  Mar}^  Neepanaum  John  Speen  and  Sarah  Speen  his 
wife  Dorothy  Winnetow  Peter  Muckquamuck  and  James  Speen 
and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  do  hereby  covenant  and  Promise  to  and 
with  the  foresaid  Tiraoth}^  Wheeler  Henrj^  Woodis  James  Blood 
&  John  Flint  and  the  rest  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  said  Town 
of  Concord  that  we  are  the  true  proprietors  of  and  have  good 
Right  &  full  power  to  grant  bargain  &  sell  the  above  granted 
&  bargained  premises  unto  the  said  Timothy  Wheeler  Henry 


58  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

"Woodis  James  Blood  and  John  Flint  and  the  Rest  of  the  Pro- 
prietors of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  to  them  their  heirs  suc- 
cessors and  assigns  forever  and  that  the  said  Timothy  Wheeler 
Henry  Woodis  James  Blood  John  Flint  and  the  Rest  of  the 
Proprietors  of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  them  their  heirs 
assigns  and  successors  forever  shall  and  may  at  all  Times  and 
from  time  to  time  forever  hereafter  peaceabl}^  have  hold  occupy 
possess  and  enjoj'  the  above  granted  Premises  in  fee  simple, 
be  the  same  more  or  less  without  the  Let  denial  or  contradiction 
of  us  the  said  Mary  Neepanaum  John  Speen,  &  Sarah  Speen 
Ms  wife  Dorothy  Winnetow  Peter  Muckquamuek  and  James 
Speen  and  Ehzabeth  his  wife,  or  any  of  us  or  any  of  our  heirs 
or  any  other  person  or  persons  whatsoever  lawfully  claiming  & 
having  any  Right  Title  or  Interest  therein  or  to  or  in  anj-  part 
or  parcel  thereof — 

In  acknowledgment  of  this  our  act  &  Deed  we  have  hereto 
put  our  hands  and  seals  this  fifth  Day  of  May  iii  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred  eighty  &  four 

Signed  Sealed  &  DeP  in  John  Speen  his  mark  \  and  seal 

the  presence  of  Sarah  Speen  her  mark   O    and  seal 

Moses  Parker  James  Speen                       and  seal 

Noah  Brooks  Elizabeth  Speen  her  mai-k    X    and 

Samuel  Wheeler,  Junr  seal 

Benjamin  Bohow  his  mark  B         Dorothy  Winnetow  her  mark     -|- 

Sarah  Bohow  her  mark  0                and  seal 

John  Speen  &  Sarah  his  wife  James  Speen  and  Elizabeth  his 
wife  and  Dorothy  alias  Winnetow  acknowledged  the  withia 
written  instrument  to  be  their  Act  &  Deed. 

May  5.  1684.  before  Petr  Bulkley  assist." 

The  following  deed  purports  to  convey  eight  thou- 
sand acres :  ^  — 

"  To  all  People  to  whom  These  presents  may  come  Greeting 
Know  ye   that  We   John   Thomas   and   Naanonsquaw   his 
wife   Tasunsquaw  The    Relict   of   Wawboa    dec?    and    eldest 

1  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  69,  f.  58. 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  59 

Daughter  to  Tasattawau  Sagamore  dec*^  Thomas  Wawboii  her 
son  Solomon  Thomas  John  Nasquaw  James  Casumpal  Sen"^  and 
Sarah  his  wife  &  Sarah  the  Rehct  widow  of  Peter  Conoway  Indi- 
ans for  and  in  Consideration  of  the  sum  of  one  and  iwenLy 
pounds,  fifteen  of  it  long  since  paid  to  us  [blank  in  record']  and 
the  Remainder  which  is  six  pounds  is  now  paid  to  us  by  Capt. 
Timothy  Wheeler  Henry  Woodis  James  Blood  &  John  Flint  of 
Concord  the  Receipt  whereof  we  do  hereby  acknowledge  and 
therewith  to  be  fully  satisfied  and  contented  have  sold  and  by 
these  presents  do  sell  aliene  enfeoflfe  and  confirm  unto  the  said 
Timothy  Wheeler  Henry  Woodis  James  Blood  and  John  Flint  of 
Concord  in  the  County  of  Middlesex  in  the  Massachusetts  Col- 
ony in  New  England  for  the  use  &  behoof  of  themselves  and 
the  Rest  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  a 
certain  Tract  or  parcel  of  Land  containing  by  Estimation  Eight 
Thousand  acres  be  the  same  more  or  less  and  is  situate  lyin^  and 
being  within  the  last  Grants  of  Land  by  the  General  Court  to 
the  Town  of  Concord  and  is  bounded  Southeast  by  the  old  bounds 
of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  and  is  bounded  Easterly  partly  by 
Billerica  partly  by  a  Farm  formerly  laid  out  by  Major  Willard 
for  himself  and  partly  by  Chelmsford  till  it  meets  with  Nashoby 
Line  and  then  Westerly  by  the  said  Nashoby  to  the  Southeast 
Corner  of  the  said  Nashoby  and  [then  northerlj-]  by  the  said 
N[ashoby]  till  it  meets  with  St[ow]  and  so  bounded  northwest 
by  the  said  Stow  till  it  comes  Near  to  a  Hill  by  the  Indians 
called  Naaruhpanit  and  then  running  upon  a  strait  Line  to  the 
North  River  at  the  old  bounds  of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  unto 
them  the  said  Timoth}^  Wheeler  Henr}^  Woodis  James  Blood  and 
John  Flint  agents  for  the  Town  of  Concord  and  to  the  rest  of 
the  Proprietors  of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  to  them  their  Heirs 
and  Successors  and  assigns  forever  and  we  the  said  John  Thomas 
and  Nasquaw  James  Casumpat  and  Sarah  his  wife  and  Sarah  the 
Relict  widow  of  Peter  Connoway  do  hereby  covenant  and  promise 
to  and  with  the  foresaid  Timothy  Wheeler  Henry  Woodis  James 
Blood  and  John  Flint  and  the  rest  of  the  Proprietors  of  the 
Town  of  Concord  that  we  are  the  true  Proprietors  of  and  have 
good  Right  &  full  power  to  grant  bargain  and  sell  the  above 


60  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

granted  and  bargained  premises  unto  the  said  Timothy  Wheeler 
Henry  Woodis  James  Blood  &  John  Flint  and  the  rest  of  the 
Proprietors  of  the  Town  of  Concord  to  them  their  hens  Succes- 
sors and  assigns  forever  and  that  the  said  Timothy  Wheeler 
Henry  Woodis  James  Blood  and  John  Flint  &  the  rest  of  the 
Proprietors  of  the  said  Town  of  Concord  them  their  Heirs  Suc- 
cessors &  assigns  shall  and  may  at  all  times  &  from  time  to 
time  forever  hereafter  peaceably  have  hold  occupy  possess  and 
enjoy  the  above  granted  premises  in  fee  simple  be  the  same  more 
or  less  without  the  Let  denial  or  Contradiction  of  us  the  said  John 
Thomas  and  Naanonsquaw  his  wife  Tasunsquaw  widow  and  eldest 
Daughter  of  Tasattawan  Late  Sagamore  dec?  Thomas  Wawbou 
Solomon  Thomas  John  Nasquaw  James  Casumpat  Sen''  &  Sarah 
his  wife  and  Sarah  the  Relict  widow  of  Peter  Conoway  or  any 
of  us  or  an}-  of  our  heirs  or  any  other  person  or  persons  what- 
soever lawful!}-  claiming  &  having  an}'  Right  Title  or  Interest 
therein  or  to  or  in  any  part  or  parcel  thereof. 

In  acknowledgment  of  this  our  act  &  Deed  we  have  hereto 
put  our  hands  and  seals  this  fourteenth  Day  of  August  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  Thousand  Six  hundred  Eighty  and  four. 

Signed  Sealed  &  Del'd,  John  Thomas  his  mark  E  and  seal 

in  the  presence  of  Naanunsquaw  her  mark  \A  and  seal 

Ebenezer  Ingolds  Tasunsquaw  her  mark  \/\  and  seal 

Joseph  Shambery  his  mark    W        Thomas  Wabon  and  seal 

Andrew  Pittamey  his  mark  A  Solomon  Thomas  his  mark  S  and 
Joseph  Woolley  seal 

James  Casumpat  Sen^  his  mark  Z 
and  seal 
'  John  Nasquaw  his  mark  <J'  and  seal 

Sarah  the  widow  of  Peter 

Conoway  her  mark  >  and  seal 
Sarah  the  wife  of  James 

Casumpat  her  mark  Q  and  seal 

Midd.  ss.  Concord  August  the  29.  1730  before  his  Majesty's 
Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace  appeared  Mr.  Joseph 
Woolley  and  made  oath  that  he  was  present  and  saw  John 
Thomas   Naanonsquaw  Tasunsquaw  Thomas  Wabun  Solomon 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  61 

Thomas  James  Casumpat  John  Nasqua  Sarah  the  widow  of 
Peter  Conaway  and  Sarah  the  wife  of  James  Casumpat  execute 
the  within  Instrument  as  their  act  &  Deed  and  that  he  together 
with  Ebenezer  Ingolds  Joseph  Shamberry  &  Andrew  Pittamey 
at  the  same  time  set  to  their  hands  as  Witnesses  to  the  Execution 
thereof 

Att     Saml  Phipps     Cler.  Pacis." 

The  territory  extending  down  the  river  north  of 
the  original  grant,  and  known  as  Blood's  Farms  con- 
sisted of  three  original  grants  by  the  General  Court 
to  Thomas  Allen,  Increase  No  well  and  Atherton 
Hough,  respectively ;  to  Allen  and  Nowell  five  hun- 
dred acres  each;  to  Hough,  four  hundred  acres. 
The  following  instrument^  refers  to  the  Allen  and 
Nowell  grants,  as  well  as  to  the  Winthrop  and  Dud- 
ley Farms  which  were  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
river,  entirely  outside  the  bounds  of  Concord,  and 
within  the  present  limits  of  Bedford  and  Billerica. 

"A  Record  of  a  purchase  of  the  Indians  right  vnto  certaine 
land,  by  the  parties  followeing,  the  20*^ii  of  the  4'^  month  1642. 

An  agreement  made  in  the  behalfe  of  M"^  Winthrope,  M' 
Dudley  M  Nowell,  &  M  Allen  about  theire  farmes  lyeing 
vppon  Concord  River  in  manner  as  foUoweth,  betweene  S^-mon 
Willard  in  the  behalfe  of  those  gentlemen  aforesaid,  &  Natta- 
hatawants  Sachim  of  the  same  ground. 

The  said  S3-mon  doth  purchase  of  the  said  Nattahattawants 
all  the  ground  w<=^  the  Court  granted  to  the  forenamed  gentlemen 
lyeing  vpon  both  sides  of  Concord  River,  that  is  M""  Winthrope 
o'^  present  Governour  one  thousand  two  hundred  &  sixty  Acres, 
M""  Dudlej'  one  thousand  fyve  hundred  Acres  on  the  South  East 
side  of  the  River,  M'^  Nowell  fyve  hundred  Acres.  &  M""  Allen 
fyve  hundred  Acres  on  the  North  East  side  of  the  River,  «fc  in 

1  Sufeolk  Deeds,  L.  1,  f.  34. 


62  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Consideration  hereof,  the  said  Symon  giveth  to  the  said  Natta- 
hattawants  sixe  fadom  of  Waompampege  &  one  wastcoate,  &  one 
breeches,  and  the  said  Nattahattawants  doth  covenant  &  bind 
himselfe,  that  hee  nor  any  other  Indians  shall  set  traps  within 
this  ground  so  as  any  Cattle  might  receive  hurt  thereby,  and 
what  Cattle  shall  receive  any  hurt  by  this  meanes  he  shalbe 
lyable  to  make  it  good 

Witnes  the  marke  of  V    Natahattawants 

John  Mills  the  marke  of    0    Winnippin  an 

the  mark  W  of  William  Gamlin  Lidian  that  traded  for  him." 
the  mark  of   V   Sarah  Mills 

A  portion  of  Blood's  Farms  came  into  the  owner- 
ship of  Eobert  Blood  as  early  as  1642,  and  the 
remaining  lands  were  afterwards  acquired  by  him 
and  his  brother  John.  Robert,  who  married  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Major  Willard,  came  into  possession 
by  purchase  from  the  Indians,  and  in  the  right  of 
his  wife,  of  other  large  tracts  extending  westward 
to  the  Chelmsford  line  and  southward  to  the  Con- 
cord bounds.^  Taken  together,  these  farms  formed 
a  large  part  of  the  town  of  Carlisle. 

The  Bloods  described  themselves  in  their  deeds  as 
"  of  Middlesex  County,"  or  "  living  neer  Concord." 
The  Farms  constituted  a  distinct  territory  outside  of 
the  regularly  authorized  plantations,  but  having  no 
separate  civil  or  ecclesiastical  government.  The  oc- 
cupants paid  their  rates  in  Billerica,  but  when  the 
Indian  troubles  arose,  they  found  Concord  a  more  con- 
venient shelter,  and  paid  rates  in  this  town.  Billerica, 
however,  recovered  judgment  for  the  rates  assessed 

1  See  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.   12,  f.  110. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD-  63 

during  their  residence  here,  and  Concord  was  obliged 
to  refund  the  amount  collected.^  The  question  of 
jurisdiction  caused  new  embarrassments,  and  it  was 
at  last  declared  by  the  General  Court,  October  11, 
1682,  to  be  a  grievance  that  sundry  gentlemen, 
merchants  and  others,  owned  great  tracts  of  land, 
which  were  daily  increasing  in  value,  but  notwith- 
standing, did  not  pay  to  public  charges ;  and  it  was 
therefore  ordered  that  such  persons  should  pay  to 
the  treasurer  of  the  county  two  shillings  for  every 
hundred  acres  of  land,  and  in  that  proportion  for 
smaller  amounts.  Towns  were  required  to  make 
the  assessment  upon  all  such  lands  lying  within  their 
bounds,  "  and  also  to  assess  all  countrey  grants  of 
lands  called  farmes  belonging  to  peculiar  persons, 
that  lye  neerest  vnto  such  toune  or  tounes."  ^ 

Acting  under  the  authority  thus  conferred,  the 
Concord  constables,  armed  with  tax  warrants  and 
supported  by  a  sufficient  posse,  visited  the  Farms, 
and  were  received  by  Robert  Blood  and  his  two  sons 
with  contumelious  speeches,  accompanied  by  actual 
violence  to  their  persons.  In  1684,  Robert  Blood, 
Senior,  was  fined  £10  and  ordered  to  give  bond, 
for  abusing  John  Wheeler,  the  constable  of  Concord, 
by  reproachful  speeches,  and  vilifying  his  Majesty's 
authority ;  and  the  next  year  his  violent  treatment 
of  Constable  Eleazer  Flagg  led  to  a  like  punish- 
ment.^ 

1  Mass.  Records,  v.  188.  «  Ihid.,  v.  375, 

8  County  Court  Records. 


64  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

It  was  on  all  accounts  to  be  desired,  that  this  state 
of  affairs  should  not  continue.  The  occupants  of  the 
Farms  were  compelled  by  law  to  pay  rates  in  some 
one  town  at  least,  whether  they  received  any  benefit 
or  not.  They  wished  for  roads,  but  no  one  felt 
either  duty  or  desire  to  afford  them  any  better 
facilities  of  communication  with  the  more  thickly 
settled  places.  Finally,  March  17,  1686,  Robert 
Blood,  with  the  assent  in  writing  of  his  sons  Robert 
and  Simon,  negotiated  a  treaty  with  Peter  Bulkeley, 
Esquire,  Henry  Woodis,  and  John  Smedly,  Senior, 
acting  in  behalf  of  the  town  of  Concord,  by  the 
terms  of  which  it  was  agreed  that  Robert  Blood 
should  thereafter  pay  in  Concord  all  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical dues  and  assessments  incumbent  upon  him, 
and  a  due  proportion  of  whatever  expense  there 
might  be  in  building  or  repairing  the  meeting-house. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  and  his  heirs  were  to  be 
"  from  time  to  time,  freed  and  exempted  from  all 
Towne  offices,"  and  their  waste  land  was  not  to  be 
reckoned  in  their  minister  rates.^  It  was  agreed  that 
convenient  roads  should  be  laid  out  for  them  at  the 
expense  of  the  town,  and  no  town  rates  were  to  be 
assessed  to  the  Bloods  except  as  above  specified. 

We  have  been  accustomed  to  say  that,  by  this 
agreement  the  Farms  were  annexed  to,  or  became 
a  part  of  Concord,  and,  on  the  whole,  this  view  is 

^  It  was  voted,  January  27,  1G68,  "  that  all  wast  lands  shall  pay 
only  2" — 6"^  for  the  100  acres  men  hold ;  by  the  yeare  to  publike  charges, 
tell  the  Towne  see  Cause  to  alter  it." 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  65 

probably  correct ;  for,  in  1702,  Josiah  Blood  and 
Samuel  Blood,  who  lived  respectively  on  Allen's 
Farm  and  Nowell's  Farm,  exchanged  deeds  in  which 
they  described  themselves  as  "  of  Concord."  ^  But 
it  is  to  be  observed  that  the  agreement  made  in 
1686  does  not  in  terms  provide  that  the  Bloods' 
"  peculiar  "  shall  be  merged  in,  and  be  considered  part 
of  the  territory  of  the  township.  And  in  point  of 
fact  we  know  that,  down  to  as  late  a  date  as  1744, 
when  the  Concord  selectmen,  once  in  three  years, 
issued  their  notices  to  the  authorities  of  the  ad- 
jacent towns,  requiring  them  to  send  committees  to 
join  with  committees  from  Concord,  in  perambulating 
the  town's  bounds,  the  Bloods  also  were  regularly 
warned  to  appear  at  the  appointed  time,  for  the 
purpose  of  renewing  the  bounds  between  Concord 
and  the  Farms. 

The  new  grant  to  Billerica,  in  1656,  of  land  west 
of  the  Concord  River,  made  it  necessary  to  define 
more  exactly  Blood's  Farms  and  Concord  Village. 
Major  Willard's  farm  of  one  thousand  acres,  which 
he  gave  as  dowry  to  his  daughter,  Elizabeth  Blood, 
by  deed  datfed  Feb.  23,  1658,  was  laid  out  on  the 
northwest  of  Concord,  and  on  both  sides  of  the 
present  boundary  between  Acton  and  Carlisle.  A 
triangular  controversy  between  Concord,  Billerica, 
and  Robert  Blood,  about  the  boundary  line  dividing 
this  farm  from  Billerica,  arose  in  1683,  and  was 
not  settled  until  1701. 

1  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  12,  f.  725. 
6 


66  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

The  following  document/  used  in  the  Blood-Bil- 
lerica  controversy  is  interesting  as  forming  a  part  of 
"the  old  towne  booke,"  which  was  partially  copied 
in  1664,  but  was  afterwards  unfortunately  lost. 

"The  21dMay  1660. 
A  Comittee.  Chosen  by  the  Towne  of  Concord  to  lay  out  the 
Major  Willards  one  thousand  acres  of  land,   with  the  Major 
himselfe  Thomas  Brooke  Robert  ffletcher  and  George  Wheeler  : 
the  dimensions  of  it  as  followeth 

1  The  first  corner  begining  upon  Chelmsford  line  runing 
southward  170  Rods 

2  The  second  line  Westward  360  Rods 

3.  The  third  line  northward  meeting  with  Chelmsford  line 
390  Rods. 

4     The  fourth  line  Eastward  along  Chelmsford  line  640  Rods. 

This  was  don  by  a  mutuall  consent  of  the  Major  Willard 
and  the  Comittee  Chosen  by  the  Towne :  Witness  their  hands 
hereunto 

James  Ilosmore  Thomas  Brooke 

Thomas  Browne  Robert  ffletcher 

and  John  Howe  George  Wheeler 

be  witnesses  hereunto 

setting  to  our  hands  I  consent  hereto  witness  my 

James  IIosmore  hand 

Thomas  Browne  Simon  Willard 

John  Howe. 

This  is  a  true  Coppy  taken  out  of  the  old  towne  booke  of 
Concord  in  one  of  folios  30  as  attested 

John  fflint  towne  Clarke 

This  copie  above  written,  being  Compared  w*  the  Towne 
booke  of  Concord  which  was  produced  &  read  in  Court  &  Com- 
pared w*'^  said  book  by 

Edward  Rawson  Secy." 

1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  39,  p.  861.  For  additional  details  concerning 
this  controversy  the  reader  is  referred  to  Hazen's  History  of  Billerica, 
pp.  77-81,  and  the  original  papers  there  referred  to. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

"  No  ripple  shows  Musketaquid, 
Her  very  current  e'en  is  hid, 
As  deepest  souls  do  calmest  rest, 
When  thoughts  are  swelling  in  the  breast. 
And  she  that  in  the  summer's  drought 
Doth  make  a  rippling  and  a  rout, 
Sleeps  from  Nahshawtuck  to  the  Cliff, 
Unruffled  by  a  single  skiff." 

Thoeeau. 

The  Second  Division  of  Lands. — Division  of  the  Town- 
ship INTO  Quarters. — Roads  and  Bridges. — Bulkeley's 
Farm.  —  Flint's  Farm.  —  Other  Large  Allotments.  — 
Undivided  Land.  —  Land  Transcripts.  —  Location  of 
House  Lots.  —  Peter  Bulkeley,  Esquire.  —  Second 
Meeting-house.  —  Town  Poland.  —  Mills.  —  Bltiying- 
Grounds. 

By  the  first  division  of  lands,  which  has  already  been 
alluded  to,  a  small  portion  only  of  the  township 
passed  into  the  hands  of  individual  owners  and  be- 
came private  property.  House  lots  were  occupied 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  meeting-house  and 
the  mill.  Large  tracts  of  planting  ground,  such  as 
the  Cranefield,  lying  behind  the  hills,  Brick-kiln 
Field,  South  Field,  and  large  areas  of  meadow  land, 
such  as  the  Great  Meadow,  Elm-brook  Meadow,  Pond 
Meadow,  and  Town  Meadow,  were  parcelled  out  in 
the  first  division,  three  or  four  acres  being  allotted 


68  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

to  each  proprietor.  The  bulk  of  the  territory  re- 
mained to  be  divided,  and,  apparently,  the  task  was 
not  an  easy  one. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  town  held  January  2,  1653, 
the  following  votes  were  passed,  in  relation  to  this 
important  matter. 

' '  A  meting  of  the  Towne  of  Concord  the  2*-^  of  the  1 1  mo. 
1652  about  second  devitioues  as  foloweth, 

Imp"^     it  is  agreed  that  20.  acres  of  land  shall  be  for  one  Cow 

Conion  (of  all  the  land  men  hold)  and  two  yearling  shall  goe  for 

one  grown  beast,  and  one  horse  for  one  beast,  and  4.  sheep  for 

one  beast. 

I*    The  bounds  of  the  Towne  is  devided  into  three  parts  ;  as 

foloweth  :  only  the  hogpeen  walke  is  not  to  be  devided  ; 

Imp""    All  on  the  north  sid  of  the   great  Rivre  shaU  be  for 

them,  on  that  sid  of  the  same ;  and  all  on  the  east  sid  to  Mr 

Bulkelyes,! 

I*    the  second  part  of  the  devition  is  on  the  East  sid  of  the 

aforesid  rivre,  be3'ond  Cranefild  to  Shawshine   corner,  and  to 

Mr  fflints  pond  to  the  gutter  that  comes  out  thereof,  and  to  the 

goose  pond  and  along  the  path  that  comes  to  the  Towne  medow 

&  to  the  Towne  ;  and  the  ^sones  to  Inioye  this  part  are  all  the 

Inhabitants  from  Mr  farweles^  to  the  East  end  of  the  Towne, 

also  Thomas  Brookes  is  to  come  in  amongst  them  for  two,  third 

^ts  of   his    land,   and   Robert  Meriam :    Sargent  Wheler  and 

Georg  Meriam  to  Joj'ne  with  them  ; 

I'     the   third    pt    of    [the]   devition  is  from  the  gutter   that 

comes  from  Mr  fflints  pond  as  aforesaid ;  to  the  south  rivre  & 

bet  wen  the  rivres ;  and  those  appoj-nted  for  that  devition,  are 

the  Rest  of  the  towne  not  beforementioned. 

It  is  agreed  that  if  the  mair  ^t  of  any  of  the  Companj-es 
shall  agree  for  the  laying  out  of  the  devitioues  as  before  exprest 

1  Charles  H.  Hallett's. 

2  Henry  Farwell  lived  a  short  distance  to  the  eastward  of  George 
Heywood's  dwelling-house  on  Lexington  Street. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  69 

then  the  minor  ^t  shall  be  Compeled  to  agree  there  to,  but  in 
Case  the  maior  pt  shall  not  agree  ;  then  an}-  pticuler  ^json  shall 
not  be  hendred  of  ther  wright,  but  they  shall  have  power  to  call 
on  indeferant  man  and  the  Company  to  whome  he  belongs 
shall  chose  one  other,  or  if  they  shall  refeuse  so  to  doe,  then 
the  Townsmen  shall  choose  on  man,  who  with  the  suervej'er 
shall  indeferantly  lay  out  his  or  there  lands  so  requiring  it,  this 
votted. 

It  is  forther  agreed  that  every  :pson  shall  have  som,  quan- 
tity of  upland  adioyning  to  his  medow,  where  it  is  in  Coiiion 
except  som  more  then  ordenary  ocation  may  hender  it,  and  in 
Case  an}-  defarance  be  therein ;  it  is  to  be  ended  by  indeferent 
men  ;  and  this  is  to  be  pt  of  there  second  devition  ; 

It  is  agreed  that  second  devitiones  shall  not  hender,  heigh- 
waj-es  to  menes  propriaties  that  they  have  in  pticolers,  but  they 
shall  be  inioj-ed  without  charge  of  purchies  to  be  laj-ed  out  by 
indeferent  men  ; 

It  is  agreed  that  all  those  that  have  lat  grants  of  lands  given 
them,  shall  have  three  acres  for  one  as  others  have." 

The  principal,  if  not  the  only,  object  in  view  in 
making  this  division  of  the  township  was  to  facilitate 
the  equitable  distribution  of  the  rest  of  the  land. 
The  process  of  subdivision  went  on  in  the  several 
quarters  ;  but,  as  usual,  property  brought  with  it  cares 
and  duties,  and  very  soon  it  was  found  necessary  for 
the  town  to  take  further  action,  for  the  purpose  of 
arranging  some  details  that  had  not  been  sufficiently 
considered,  and  more  especially,  to  apportion  the 
burden  of  expense  caused  by  the  obligation  to  make 
and  maintain  highways,  to  build  a  new  bridge  over 
the  South  River  near  Nashawtuck,  and  to  keep  in 
repair  two  other  bridges  that  spanned  the  river. 

Accordingly,  "  after  much  agitation  there  about," 


70  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

and   "  after  much  wearines  about  these  things,"  it 
was  voted,  March  8,  1654, 

"  to  chose  nine  men  thre  out  of  ech  querter  impowred  by  the 
Towne  to  here  &  end  former  debat,  acording  to  there  best  light 
&  discresion  &  Consience  ;  only  eight  of  the  nine  must  agree 
to  what  is  determined  ;  or  else  nothing  to  be  of  force  ;  this  was 
voated  the  8.  of  the  first  mo.  1654.  at  a  publique  training,  & 
none  voatted  to  the  contrarie,  but  Georg  Wheler,  Henry  Woodies, 
Joshuah  Edmonds  &  William  buttrike  these  doe  declare  there 
publiqe  consent  [sjc]  in  this  case,  Thomas  Stow  also  oposis ; 
The  men  Chosen  by  the  Towne  to  this  worke  are  as  foloweth ; 

Simon  Willard,         Ensine  Wheler,       Tho.  brooke 
Robert,  Meriam;       Geo.  Wheler,  Sargn  blood 

John  Smedly.  Tho;  batman,  Gog  He  award." 

One  may  see  at  a  glance  that  this  committee  was 
chosen  with  a  due  appreciation  of  the  importance  of 
the  work  in  hand ;  for  it  was  composed  of  men  who 
were  foremost  in  the  town's  business,  by  virtue  of 
their  large  estates  as  well  as  their  integrity  and  good 
judgment.  The  vote  was  passed  March  8,  1654,  and 
the  committee  presented  a  unanimous  report  of  their 
doings  on  the  following  day. 

Twenty  acres  of  meadow  were  reserved  for  the 
minister  "  in  the  hogepen  walke  about  annusnake  ;  " 
and  twenty  acres  of  plow-land  in  the  South  Quarter, 
together  with  a  like  amount  of  wood-land  in  the 
East  Quarter,  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  same  pur- 
pose. Twenty  acres  of  wood-land  were  reserved 
"for  the  publique  good  of  the  Towne,  lying  neer 
the  old  hogepeen,  at  ech  sid  of  the  Townes  bounds 
line ; "    five    acres    of   pine  wood-land  west  of  the 


CONCORD   IN   THE    COLONIAL  PERIOD.  71 

North  River  were  ajopropriated  for  the  use  of  the 
North  Bridge  ;  and  certain  persons  who  were  ^^  short 
in  lands  "  were  to  have  the  deficiency  made  up  to 
them  on  payment  of  "  12d.  p''  acre,  as  otliers  have 
don,  &  6d.  p^  acre  if  the  Towne  consent  thereto." 

They  recognize  the  earher  division  of  the  town 
into  three  parts,  which  they  call  the  North,  East, 
and  South  Quarters  respectively,  and  define  them 
thus :  — 

"  The  limits  of  ecb  querter  as  foloweth, 
I'    the  north  querter  by  there  famityes,  are  from  the  north  part 
of  the  training  place  to  the  great  Rivre  ^  &  all  on  to  the  north 
sid  thereof. 

I'  the  Easte  querter  by  there  famil3-es,  are  from  Henr}^  farweles 
all  Eastwards  with  Thomas  Brooke,  Ensign  Wheler,  Robert 
Meriam,  Georg  Meriam,  John  Adomes  Richerd  Rise.'-^ 
I'  the  south  querter  b}'  there  familyes  are  all  one  the  south  & 
south  weste  sid  of  the  mill  brooke  except  those  before  acsprest, 
with  Luke  potter,  Georg  Heaward,  Mihell  Wood  &  Thomas 
Dane."  ^ 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  North  Quarter  comprised 
all  the  land  on  the  north  side  of  the  great  river  and 
west  of  the  Assabet,  and  extended  to  the  eastward 

^  This  term  was  applied  to  the  Concord  River  below  Egg  Rock. 
Musquetaquid,  the  Indian  name  of  the  river,  is  said  to  have  signified 
"  grass-groivn." 

2  John  Adams  lived  on  the  Almshotise  lot;  Richard  Rice,  on  the 
corner  opposite  the  house  now  occupied  by  William  Buttrick. 

3  Thomas  Dane's  house  stood  somewhere  between  the  house  lately 
owned  and  occupied  by  Joel  W.  Walcott  and  the  house  of  Benjamin 
Tolman. 

The  location  of  the  first  house-lots  of  George  Hayward  and  Michael 
Wood  I  have  been  unable  to  fix ;  but  am  inclined  to  believe  that  they 
were  on  the  north  and  west  sides  of  the  Common. 


72         CONCORD  m  THE  colonial  period. 

of  the   great  river  as  far  as   the  northerly  end  of 
our  Common. 

The  East  Quarter  included  the  territory  east  of 
the  great  river  and  north  of  the  Mill  Brook  to  the 
town  limits.  It  also  extended  southward  of  the  line 
of  the  Mill  Brook,  and  seems  to  have  been  bounded 
in  this  direction  by  a  line  running  south  to  Goose 
Pond,  and  thence  easterly  to  Flint's  Pond  and  the 
town  bounds.  "  The  East  Quarter  line  "  is  referred 
to  in  descriptions  of  land,  and  must  at  some  time 
have  been  definitely  fixed,  but  it  is  difficult  now  to 
determine  its  location. 

The  South  Quarter,  also  called  the  Southwest  or 
West  Quarter,  consisted  of  the  territory  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  Mill  Brook  and  the  North  River,  on 
the  east  by  the  East  Quarter  line,  on  the  south  and 
southwest  by  the  bounds  of  Watertown  and  Sud- 
bury, and  on  the  west  by  the  North  River. 

The  following  record  of  the  division  of  wood  to 
the  dwellers  in  the  South  or  West  Quarter  will  afford 
an  example  of  the  methods  adoj^ted.  The  date  in 
the  record,  "17*^  .  .  52,"  is  obscure,  but  the  division 
was  probably  made  between  January  and  March, 
1653. 

"  The  devisions  are  to  witt  from  the  weast  end  of  the 
towne  meadow ;  runinge  b}'  a  hollow  to  Wallden  pond,  &  to 
crose  the  pond  to  the  tope  of  the  Rock^-e  hill,^  &  one  the  south 
syde  of  a  swompye  meadow,  called  Dongye  hole,^  &  so  alonge 

1  In  Lincoln,  a  short  distance  north  of  the  Fitchburg  railroad. 

2  This  name  was  applied  in  several  instances  to  swampy  lauds  shut 


CONCOED  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  73 

the  south  s3-de  of  that  valy  of  wood  that  runes  frome  the  afor- 
saj'd  ;  hole  to  faier  haven,  as  allso  to  the  south  sj'de,  &  south 
end,  of  a  pcell  of  wood :  called  the  Short  swompe  &  so  to 
rune  to  the  River,  &  for  this  Devisione  there  are  twellue  psons 
to  take  to  the  east  S3'de  :  &  south  S3'de  of  this  devisione  &  there 
are  seaven  to  take  to  the  weast  s3-de,  which  makes  neer  an 
equall  pportione  as  apeers,  in  both  ^portions  after,  &  this  is 
to  be  vnderstood,  that  this  first  devisione  of  wood,  the  limits 
reach  but  to  the  weast  end  of  M'^  fflints  pond  meadow  &  so  to 
the  Riever :  homeward  within  these  limitts." 

The  persons  who  received  land  by  this  division 
were  William  Wood,  George  Wheeler,  George  Hay- 
ward,  Luke  Potter,  Thomas  Brooke,  John  Scotch- 
ford,^  Samuel  Stratton,  Obadiah  Wheeler,  John 
Bellows,  Nathaniel  Billings,  Jr.,  Thomas  Dane, 
William  Wheeler,  John  Miles,  James  Hosmer,  Si- 
mon Willard,  Joshua  Edmonds,  Widow  [of  Thomas  ?] 
Barrett,  William  Buss,  and  Thomas  Dakin. 

But  the  territorial  divisions  were  not  strictly 
identical  with  the  divisions  of  the  townspeople  by 
their  dwelling  places  and  families ;  for  Eobert 
Meriam,  George  Meriam,  Thomas  Brooke,  Ensign 
Wheeler,  John  Adams,  and  Richard  Rice,  all  of 
whom  lived  on  Walden  street  and  within  the  terri- 
torial limits  of  the  South  Quarter,  were  included  in 
the  company  of  the  East  Quarter.  And  Luke  Potter, 
who  lived  on  the  east  side  of  Heywood  street,  and 

in  by  hills.      A  parcel  of  land  in  Nine- Acre  Corner  is  still  called 
"  Dunge-hole."     The  valley  mentioned  above  may  now  easily  be  seen 
from  the  Fitchburg  railroad,  the  wood  having  been  recently  cut  off. 
1  Almost  invariably  written  by  himself  Scocthford. 


74  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

between  Lexington  street  and  the  Mill  Brook ; 
Thomas  Dane,  whose  house  lot  fronted  the  Com- 
mon, together  with  George  Hayward  and  Michael 
Wood,  were  joined  with  the  South  Quarter. 

The  company  of  each  Quarter  met  at  the  house  of 
a  member,  and  each  one  brought  in  a  list  of  his  first 
division  land  upon  which  he  claimed  second  division, 
and  submitted  a  "  proposition"  for  particular  parcels 
that  he  desired  to  own,  claiming  three  new  acres  for 
every  one  that  he  already  possessed.  The  propo- 
sitions were,  with  some  exceptions,  granted,  and  the 
allotments  thus  made  were  recorded  by  the  Quarter 
clerk,  some  of  them  being  transferred  at  a  later  day 
to  the  town  records. 

The  report  of  the  nine  men  disposes  of  matters 
relating  to  highways  and  bridges  as  follows :  — 

"The  devitiones  of  the  heighwaies  are  as  foloweth ;  The 
north  querter  are  to  keepe  and  maintaine  all  there  highway es, 
and  bridges  over  the  great  Rivre  in  there  querter  and  in  Respecte 
of  there  gretness  of  Chorg  there  about,  and  in  Regerd  of  the 
ease  of  the  East  querter,  above  the  Rest  in  there  highwayes, 
the}'  are  to  alow  the  north  querter  three  pound  ; 
I*  the  East  querter  are  to  keepe  &  maintaine  all  there  heigh- 
wayes,  and  the  bredg  ouer  the  north  Rivre  [at  Derby's]  and  the 
heigh  way  there  to  the  heighland  b}'  Estimation  3.  or  4.  rods 
where  the  Coinisoners  of  Concord  and  lanchester  [Lancaster} 
being  chosen  by  there  Townes  to  lay  out  there  heighwaj'es  did 
appoint  it ; 

I'  the  south  querter  are  to  keepe  «&;  maintaine  all  there  heigh- 
wayes  &  bridges  ouer  the  south  Rivre,  except  that  at  the  north 
Rivre  before  exspresed  that  is  laied  on  the  Easte  querter  the 


CONCORD  IN   THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  75 

south  Rivr  bridg  [at  Hurd's]  being  to  be  set,  where  the  aforesaid 
Comisoners  appointed  it  as  there  agreement  declares  ; 

and  all  these  heighwa^es  &  bridgs  are  to  be  maintained 
forever  by  the  querters  on  whom  the}^  are  now  Cast,  and  it  is 
forther  concluded  that  if  any  damiag  shall  com  to  the  Towne, 
by  the  neglect  of  any  part  of  the  Towne  in  an}-  part  of  there 
waj-es  that  part  of  the  Towne,  so  niglecting  ether  bridgs  or 
wayes,  shall  beare  ther  damiag  and  secuer  the  Rest  of  the 
Towne." 

The  highways  are  more  particularly  defined  as 
follows :  — 

"  The  heigh  wayes  are  as  folow ;  the  north  querter  are  to  make 
&  maintaine  all  the  heighwaj'es  from  the  training  place  to  the 
great  Rivre  with  the  bridg,  and  all  that  is  to  be  done  the  north 
sid  thereof; 

P  the.  East  querter  are  to  make  &  maintaine,  all  the  heigh- 
wayes  from  Obadiah  Whelers  house,  allong  to  the  baywards  and 
all  the  heighwayes  at  the  East  end  of  the  Towne,  with  what  heigh- 
wayes  shall  fall  in  that  querter  with  the  north  bridg  rivr  ^  and  the 
way  at  the  end  thereof  on  the  further  sid,  3.  or  4.  Rods. 
I*^  the  south  querter  are  to  make  &  maintaine  all  there  heigh- 
wayes one  the  south  sid  of  the  mill  brooke,  with  Sudbury  wayes 
as  also  the  bridg  over  the  south  Rivr,  &  the  wa3-es  beyond 
towards  the  north  Rivr,  untell  it  come  to  the  north  Rivr,  before 
laid  on  the  East  querter." 

Officers  are  provided  for,  as  follows :  — 

"We  doe  chose  overseeres  in  ech  querter  for  the  faithfull 
^formance  of  there  duty  in  that  case  in  all  ^ticolers  so  far  as 
may  condeuce  for  the  profit  &  good  of  there  said  querters,  as 
to  make  Rats  to  pa}-  workemen  &  to  see  that  all  psones  come  in 
sesonabl  time  &  keep  them  to  there  bisines  faithfully  &  keep 
accounts  &  so  see  the  worke  suffisintly  don  ;  and  the}'  are  im- 
poured  to  call  fitt  men  &  Cattle  in  there  querter  to  the  worke  & 

^  North  River  Bridge. 


76  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

pay  them  there  wages  ;  and  if  any  shall  refevse  to  attend,  these 
nesery  workes  ;  there  names  shall  be  Returned  to  the  Selectmen 
of  the  Towne,  who  shall  Impose  findes  acording  to  law  vpon  all 
such  ofendares  in  that  case ;  also  the  overseeres  as  aforesaid 
shall  keep  an  exact  account  of  there  owne  time,  expended,  and 
shall  have  suflfisient  sattisfaction  for  the  same." 

Timothy  Wheeler  and  William  Hartwell  were 
made  overseers  of  the  East  Quarter ;  for  the  North 
Quarter,  John  Smedly  and  Thomas  Bateman ;  and 
in  the  South  Quarter,  George  Wheeler,  James  Hos- 
mer,  George  Hayward,  and  William  Buss. 

It  was  further  decided  that  in  making  rates  the 
"  East  end "  should  be  assessed  two  pence  in  the 
pound,  "  for  all  menes  estate  acording  as  Mr. 
Bulkelys  last  Rate  was  mad  ;  "  the  North  Quarter  the 
same ;  but  the  South  Quarter,  four  pence  in  the 
pound. 

The  immunity  from  public  rates,  as  distinguished 
from  those  that  were  laid  for  town  purposes,  had  long 
since  ceased,  and  besides  the  colony  rate  and  the 
support  of  the  minister,  the  expenses  of  highways 
and  bridges  were  increasing  at  an  alarming  pace,  by 
reason  of  the  general  development  of  the  country 
and  the  need  of  better  means  of  communication 
between  settlements,  and  between  widely  separated 
portions  of  the  same  township. 

In  response  to  a  petition  for  relief  from  the  burden 
of  contributing  to  the  support  of  so  many  bridges, 
a  committee  appointed  by  the  General  Court,  and 
another  representing  the  county  of  Middlesex,  met 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  77 

together  and  settled  this  matter  of  county  bridges, 
April  17,  1660.  Their  decision  increased  the  amount 
of  a  former  allowance  to  Concord  by  the  sum  of  £10, 
making  the  whole  £30,  and  it  was  ordered  that  the 
town  should  be  "free  from  charges  to  all  bridges 
extant,  save  theire  own  bridges."  The  committees 
say  further  :  — 

"  The  three  bridgs  they  foot,  and  plead  upon  ;  are  for  there 
owne  proper  specal  and  perticuler  conscernment,  for  there  saw 
mill ;  Iron  workes  &  other  occationes  and  not,  necessarj'  for  the 
County  or  Country  and  may  at  there  pleasur  be  diserted." 

The  petition  was  as  follows :  — 

"  To  the  Eight  Wori'  the  Governor  Deputy  and  Assistants 
w*^  the  rest  of  the  Members  of  the  hono'^'^  Generall  Co''*  mett  at 
Boston  Octob'"  18^}  1659  the  humble  Petition  &  Declaration  of 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  Towne  of  Concord,  humbly  sheweth,  that 
Whereas  there  was  an  order  made  by  the  honored  Court  that 
each  count3'  should  mainte3'ne  the  bridges  w*^  in  it  that  are 
Count}'  bridges,  And  we  understand  that  there  was  something 
since  concluded  in  the  Court  concerning  the  severall  Townes  in 
this  County  of  Middlesex  bearing  the  charges  of  the  bridges 
within  their  bounds  except  My  stick  Bridge,  &  that  which  is 
betweene  Billerecay  and  Chelmsford,  which  wee  yoi^  petitioners 
here  never  consented  unto  and  therefore  have  divers  times  made 
o'^  complaint  to  our  County  Co'"*  concerning  it,  but  not  being 
there  relieved  butt  referred  by  them  to  the  consideration  of  this 
honored  Court  now  therefore  humbly  Intreat  that  our  Condition 
in  this  respect  may  be  seriousl}'  weighed,  and  that  wee  ma}'  have 
such  releife  as  this  present  Court  shall  in  their  wisedom  judge 
just  &  Equall  for  us  to  receive.  And  that  the  honord  Court 
may  the  better  discerne  what  the  charge  hath  beene  &  is  like 
to  be  about  the  County  bridges  in  o'"  Towne,  bee  pleased  hereby 
to  understand  that  the  length  of  the  Arch-worke  of  these  bridges 
over  the  Rivers  which  at  present  is  &  hereafter  must  be  is  about 


78  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

sixt}'  rods,  besides  all  the  other  charge  about  them,  &  severall 
other  smaller  bridges  which  frequently  need  repaires :  For  ease 
in  the  charge  whereof  we  humbly  crave  yo^  helpe.  And  yo"^ 
petitioners  shall  pray  for  the  gracious  presence  of  the  Lord  with 
you  in  all  yo^  weighty  occasions.^ 

Edward  Bulkely. 
Timothy  Wheeler 
Robert  ffletcher 
George  Wheeler 
Willm  Hartwell. 

The  three  bridges  maintained  by  the  town  at  this 
time  were  situated,  one  on  the  South  Kiver  at  Henry 
Woodis's  mansion,  another  on  the  great  river  at 
Buttrick's,^  and  the  third  on  the  North  River,  at 
what  is  now  the  Derby  place. 

The  last-named  bridge  was  built  to  facilitate 
communication  with  Lancaster  and  other  western 
settlements,  but  was  probably  not  a  very  elaborate 
structure,  for  in  1663,  complaints  were  made  of  its 
condition,  which  were  renewed  in  1666.  In  that 
year   it   was   carried    away   by  the   flood,   and  the 

1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  121,  p.  32. 

'^  Probably  it  will  never  be  ascertained  whether  the  first  bridge 
was  at  Nashawtuck  or  at  Buttrick's.  The  first  bridge  over  the  South 
River  is  said  to  have  been  placed  a  short  distance  below  the  bend  in 
the  stream  against  Mr.  Hurd's  land,  a  location  afterwards  aban- 
doned for  the  present  one,  in  order  to  obtain  a  more  direct  course  for 
the  road  to  Lancaster.  The  North  Bridge  stood  until  1793  on  the  spot 
now  occupied  by  the  Battle  Bridge,  —  if  one  may  suggest  a  name  for 
the  structure  that  gives  access  to  the  statue  of  the  Minute-Man.  Un- 
doubtedly, at  both  of  these  places,  houses  were  built  very  early  on  the 
further  bank,  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  at  Buttrick's  the  river 
was  at  first  forded  at  a  shallow  place  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Mill 
Brook.  The  North  River  was  passed  by  fording  at  the  Ilosmer  place, 
before  the  bridcre  was  built. 


CONCORD  m  THE  COLONIAL   PERIOD.  79 

county  treasurer  paid  to  the  constables  of  Con- 
cord £20  "  which  wer  Alowed  them  by  the  Court 
towards  ther  Bridges."  ^ 

The  Mill  Brook  was  crossed  by  Potter's  Bridge  '^ 
(on  Heywood  Street),  and  by  Fox's  Bridge  (near 
Wayside).  On  the  Sudbury  Road,  the  remains  of 
the  Swamp  Bridge,  of  which,  with  the  causeway 
leading  to  it,  a  dam  was  made  in  1691  by  Jonathan 
Prescott  and  Joshua  Wheeler,  are  still  visible  on  land 
of  Arthur  G.  Fuller,  a  short  distance  to  the  southeast 
of  Walden  Pond.  Farther  on,  towards  Sudbury  and 
Watertown,  bridges  w^ere  built  at  Half-way  Brook  ^ 
and  at  Beaver  Dam ;  and  several  others  of  minor 
importance  were  scattered  about  the  town,  spanning 
the  brooks  and  rivulets  that  ran  in  every  direction. 

The  Indian  paths  were  only  a  foot  broad,*  and  it 
would  seem  that  ways  of  moderate  width  might 
have  been  sufficient  for  the  English  settlers,  who 
never  travelled  except  on  foot  or  on  horseback  ;  but 
the  fathers  always  had  hopes  of  greater  things  in 
the  future,  and  the  same  record  that  fixed  the  site 
of  the  first  meeting-house  informs  us  also,  that  it  was 
"  ordered  that  the  highway  under  the  hill  therough 
the  Towne  is  to  be  left  foure  Bodes  broad." 


^  County  Court  Records. 

2  In  the  description  of  Luke  Potter's  land  (1666)  this  is  spoken 
of  as  "  the  bridge  caled  the  fort  bridge;  "  but  it  was  known  for  a  long 
time  afterwards  as  Potter's  Bridge. 

3  So-called  because  it  was  estimated  to  be  half  way  between  Con- 
cord and  Sudbury. 

*  Johnson. 


80  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

This  was  the  first  and  most  important  highway, 
afterwards  extended  and  called  the  Bay  Road,  as 
being  an  outlet  to  Cambridge  Farms,  Charlestown, 
and  Boston,  Its  width  varied  from  four  rods  to  ten 
rods,  but  early  in  the  next  century  it  was  reduced 
within  limits  that  accorded  more  nearly  with  the 
extent  and  needs  of  travel. 

Leading  from  the  Bay  Road  to  the  northeast,  were 
the  Billerica  Road,  which  was  laid  out  before  1660,^ 
and  the  highway  to  Woburn,  which  was  formally 
laid  out  between  that  town  and  Concord  in  1665 
by  committees  representing  the  two  towns. 

A  highway  from  Watertown  to  Concord  was  laid 
out  in  1638,^  and  the  road  to  Sudbury  leading  past 
Walden  Pond  was  in  existence  in  1648.  The  course 
of  the  most  ancient  road  leading  to  Watertown  and 
Sudbury  was  by  the  lane  which  runs  from  Walden 
Street  through  the  land  of  George  Everett,  thence 
through  the  woods  to  the  southward  of  Walden  Pond, 
where  it  crossed  the  ravine,  and  emerged  from  the 
woods  at  the  James  Baker  place,  in  Lincoln.  The 
road  which  leads  past  the  Almshouse,  stopped  at  the 
ditch  at  the  end  of  the  house-lots,  and  a  way  that 
was  discontinued  long  ago  gave  access  to  Samuel 
Stratton's  house-lot  from  the  Bay  Road,  at  a  point 
near  the  Staples  place. 

The  way  still  known  as  the  "  Old  Marlborough 
Road  "  is  very  ancient,  and  may  be  easily  followed. 

^  Hazen,  p.  89;  County  Court  Records,  April  6,  1658. 
2  Watertown  Records.     See  Bond,  p.  997. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  81 

The  "  Old  Groton  Road,"  leading  over  the  North 
Bridge,  was  not  formally  laid  out  until  1699,  but  the 
action  then  taken  was  in  great  part  a  relocation  and 
straightening  of  the  old  ways  and  paths  already 
existing  in  the  North  Quarter. 

The  earliest  way  from  the  South  Bridge  to  the 
Derby  place  ran  in  a  curved  line,  between  Nashaw- 
tuck  Hill  and  the  house  of  Charles  H.  Hurd,  to  the 
old  Colburn  house-lot,  and  then  turning  more  to 
the  westward,  reached  the  Hosmers',  and  crossed  the 
river  by  a  ford-way  near  the  railroad  bridge.  When, 
however,  a  bridge  was  thrown  over  the  river,  where 
it  is  now  crossed,  at  this  point,  the  commmonly  trav- 
elled way  to  and  from  the  town  was  by  the  John 
Hosmer  place. 

There  were  "  driftways  "  to  Fairhaven  and  "  the 
Rocks ; "  and  ways  were  laid  out  to  "  Fifty-Acre 
Meadow,"  "  the  Hog  Pens,"  "  Virginia,"  "  Mento," 
"Scotland,"  "Shawshine  Corner,"  "  Dunsdell,"  "the 
corner  adjoining  Watertown,"  "  Mr.  Flint's  Farm," 
"the  Nine  Acres,"  soon  called  "Nine-Acre  Corner," 
and  other  places  within  the  town  limits. 

A  large  number  of  private  ways,  many  of  which 
still  exist,  were  laid  out  for  the  accommodation  of 
owners  of  land,  —  such  as  the  way  to  the  Great 
Meadow,  and  the  ways  into  the  Great  Common 
Fields  lying  east  of  Lexington  Street,  one  entering 
near  the  house  of  Emeline  E.  Barrett,  on  Monument 
Street,  another  at  Merriam's  Corner. 

In  the  second  division  of  lands,  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley 


82  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

received  a  tract  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
that  included  the  Codman  place  in  Lincoln,  and  to 
Thomas  Flint  were  assigned  a  like  number  of  acres 
extending  from  Flint's  Pond  to  Beaver  Pond  and 
the  town  bounds,  comprising  what  is  now  the  centre 
of  Lincoln.  Flint's  Farm  was  owned  and  occupied 
for  almost  a  century  by  descendants  of  Thomas  Flint 
and  their  tenants.  These  were  the  largest  single 
tracts  granted  to  any  individual. 

The  deposition  of  Samuel  and  Joseph  Fletcher, 
taken  in  1734,  states  that  in  1683  and  1684  "  there 
were  three  separate  Families  that  lived  upon  a  Farm 
formerly  called  Buckley's  Farm,  afterwards  called 
Prout's  farm,  but  is  now  reputed  to  be  the  estate  of 
Charles  Chambers,  of  Charlestown,  Esq :  the  said 
Farm  lyeth  upon  and  in  the  southerly  part  of  the 
Town  of  Concord,  &c."  The  persons  named  as 
residents  were  Thomas  Skinner,  Thomas  Pratt,  and 
Ephraim  Roper.^ 

Peter  Bulkeley,  of  London,  described  as  an  apoth- 
ecary and  son  of  the  first  Peter,  sold  this  farm  to 
Timothy  Prout  in  1671,  for  the  sum  of  £45,  and 
Edward  Bulkeley,  as  attorney  of  his  brother,  gave 
"  full  possession  &  delivery  of  Seising  by  turfe  and 
twigg."  2 

James  Blood,  father  and  son,  received  as  part  of 

their   second   division   five    hundred    acres    in    one 

parcel,  extending   southward   from  the    town   line. 

Henry  Woodis  and  Thomas   Stow  jointly  owned  a 

1  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  34,  f.  494.  2  jjjid,^  l.  8,  f.  328. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  83 

tract  of  six  hundred  and  sixty-six  acres,  situated 
south  of  Fairhaven  and  east  of  the  river,  which  was 
sold  in  1660  to  Thomas  Goble  and  Daniel  Dane  for 
£72,  and  was  afterwards  occupied  by  them.^ 

Large  tracts  were  held  for  a  long  time  afterwards 
by  the  Quarters,  or  by  joint  proprietors,  in  common 
and  undivided ;  as  for  instance,  the  "  Great  Fields  " 
adjoining  the  Great  Meadow ;  and  the  "  Twenty 
Score,"  which  extended  to  the  southward  from 
Bateman's  Pond^  and  contained,  as  the  name 
would  imply,  four  hundred  acres,  and  many  other 
parcels  besides,  in  various  parts  of  the  town. 

It  subsequently  appeared  that  there  were  a  few 
scattered  parcels  of  common  land  that,  for  one  rea- 
son or  another,  were  not  granted  by  the  town  at  this 
time,  but  were  disposed  of  at  a  much  later  day.^ 

1  See  deeds  in  the  town  records. 

2  Named  for  Thomas  Bateman,  who  owned  land  adjoining  the 
pond. 

3  In  the  town  records,  under  date  of  May  22,  1732,  may  be  found 
the  report  of  John  Hunt,  Joseph  Lee,  and  Nathaniel  Ball,  who  were 
chosen  a  committee  to  "  Lay  out  to  the  persons  that  had  Land  to  take 
up  in  the  old  Town  of  Concord."  They  found  that  some  small  quan- 
tities of  land  were  due  to  the  respective  heirs  of  six  of  the  early  plant- 
ers, and  grants  were  voted  accordingly.  From  a  report  made  May  23, 
1734,  by  the  same  committee,  acting  under  instructions  "  to  make 
search  into  the  Common  Land  and  Report  thereon,"  it  appears  that 
they  found  yet  remaining  six  pieces  of  common  land,  which  were  sur- 
veyed by  Stephen  Hosmer,  and  contained  altogether  two  hundred  and 
twenty-six  acres  and  a  few  rods.  Among  the  parcels  of  ungranted 
land  then  discovered  was  "  a  small  Island  in  the  crotch  of  the  River 
below  Mr  Woodises  Rock  where  the  Rivers  meet,"  estimated  at  a 
quarter  of  an  acre ;  also  a  strip  measuring  about  three-fourths  of  an 
acre,  extending  up  the  river  from  where  the  Minute-Man  stands, 
and  lying  between  the  river  and  the  old  causeway. 


84  CONCORD  m   THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Nine  years  afterwards,  in  1664,  the  town  decided 
to  buy  a  new  record  book,  and  that  "  what  is  in  the 
old  booke  that  is  vesefull;  shall  be  trancescribed 
into  the  new ;  with  all  lands  which  men  now  hold 
as  there  proper  wright  in  ther  hands  now  being." 
The  "  latter  grants  "  to  particular  persons  had  been 
"  written  in  paper  bookes  (as  granted)  and  not  re- 
corded in  a  register  booke."  Therefore,  it  was  voted 
that  every  one  should  draw  up  a  "  trancescripe  "  of 
all  the  lands  that  he  then  owned ;  which  statement, 
after  being  read  and  approved  at  a  meeting  of  his 
Quarter,  should  be  signed  by  the  Quarter  clerk  and 
recorded  by  the  "  clarke  of  the  Towne  records," 
as  approved  by  the  Town. 

The  recorded  descriptions  of  land  which  were 
brought  in  under  this  regulation  extend  from  1664 
to  1673  inclusive,  but  are  chiefly  confined  to  the 
years  1666,  1668,  and  1673 ;  and  a  careful  compar- 
ison of  these  descriptions  with  each  other  and  with 
other  ancient  records,  affords  a  means  of  construc- 
ting, with  a  fair  degree  of  accuracy,  a  map  of  the 
town,  showing  the  location  of  the  house-lots  at  the 
time  included  between  the  dates  given  above. 

Concord  was  no  longer  a  small,  compact  settlement; 
for  the  dwellings  now  extended  eastward,  on  the  line 
of  the  great  road,  to  Cambridge  bounds,  a  few  were 
located  on  the  road  to  Billerica,  and  others  on  the 
further  side  of  the  rivers,  at  the  north  and  west. 

After  remaining  for  a  short  time  with  his  friends 
near  the  centre,  James  Hosmer  had  moved  westward 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  85 

to  his  farm  between  the  rivers,  —  a  part  of  which  is 
now  occupied  by  his  descendant,  Abel  Hosmer,  — 
where  for  a  time  he  was  the  advanced  guard  of 
civiHzation  in  the  colony.  His  son  James,  who  was 
killed  by  the  Indians,  at  Sudbury  in  1675,  lived  a 
little  to  the  southward,  on  land  adjoining  his  father's 
farm. 

George  Hayward  had  sold  his  house,  barn,  and 
land  near  the  mill-pond  to  Mr.  Bulkeley,  and  had 
built  a  house  and  corn-mill  at  the  southwest,  where 
his  descendant  still  lives.^ 

John  Heywood  had  bought  Thomas  Dakin's  house 
and  barn,  and  the  latter  was  living  on  the  Lancaster 
Road  beyond  the  South  River.  Near  him,  on  the 
same  road,  was  Michael  Wood,  and  farther  on,  at 
Brook  Meadow,  were  Obadiah  Wheeler  and  Edmund 
Wigly. 

Henry  Woodis  lived  on  the  Willard  estate,  which 
he  bought  of  Captain  Thomas  Marshall.  To  the 
westward  of  him  was  Francis  Dudley  (on  the  Col- 
burn  place),  and,  on  the  south,  John  Dakin. 

Richard  Rice,  dissatisfied  with  his  small  house-lot 
and  orchard  near  the  centre,  had  set  up  his  house- 
hold gods  anew  on  his  second-division  land,  at  "  the 
east  end,"  close  to  the  town  line. 

Richard    Temple   was    bringing   up    a   numerous 

^  George  Hayward,  Senior,  was  accidentally  drowned,  JNIarch,  1671. 
The  jury  of  inquest  found,  that  he  was  "  overthrowne  by  the  strength 
of  the  streame  and  so  drownded  in  the  river  by  the  iron  woi'kes  as  he 
was  returning  to  goe  home  after  he  had  bien  healpiug  william  ffrizell 
over  the  river  in  a  Caunoe." 


86  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

progeny  at  his  mill  on  Spencer  Brook,  and  west- 
ward of  him  were  Francis  Barker  and  his  son  John. 

Nehemiah  Hmit,  son  of  William  and  lord  of  Punk- 
atassett,  lived  on  the  estate  bought  by  his  father  of 
Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley,  and  now  owned  and  occupied 
by  his  descendant  William  H.  Hmit. 

Tradition  places  the  house  of  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley 
on  the  lot  now  owned  and  occupied  by  Charles  H. 
Hallett,  on  Lowell  Street.  Thomas  Dane  owned  a 
house-lot  of  six  acres  extending  from  the  burial-hill 
to  the  mill-pond.  Luke  Potter's  house-lot  consisted 
of  six  and  one  half  acres  on  both  sides  of  Heywood 
Street  (then  known  as  "Potter's  Lane "),  including 
the  land  last  occupied  by  Charles  Bowers,  and  ex- 
tendino*  across  Lexing;ton  Street. 

Going  eastward  from  this  point  by  the  Bay  Road, 
the  house-lots  came  in  the  following  order,  occupy- 
ing both  sides  of  the  road  and  extending  to  the 
Mill  Brook,  —  John  Farewell,  twelve  acres,  Thomas 
Wheeler,  Senior,  thirteen  acres,  and  Moses  Wheat, 
sixteen  acres  (the  Staples  place).  East  of  Wheat, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  was  the  house-lot  of 
William  Baker,  comprising  seven  acres.  Then, 
running  to  the  brook,  as  before,  came  the  lot  of 
Nathaniel  Stow,  fifteen  acres,  bought  of  William 
Fletcher  in  1656,  and  a  lot  owned  by  Peter 
Bulkeley,  Esquire. 

Next  to  Bulkeley  was  Thomas  Burgess,  ten  acres ; 
then  came  Francis  Fletcher,  eight  acres,  Edward 
Wright,  ten  acres,  Eliphalet  Fox,  eight  acres,  Na- 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  87 

thaniel  Ball,  thirteen  acres,  William  Hart  well,  nine 
acres,  John  Hartwell,  ten  acres,  and  William  Taylor, 
eight  and  three  quarters  acres. 

Still  farther  eastward  were  Caleb  and  Joshua 
Brooke,  Christopher  Woolley  and  Richard  Rice. 

John  Meriam's  house-lot  consisted  of  an  acre  and 
one  half,  situated  in  the  corner  made  by  the  Bay 
Road  on  the  south  and  the  Billerica  Road  on  the 
west.  Joseph  Dane  and  Thomas  Pellet  occupied 
one  homestead  on  the  Billerica  Road. 

South  of  the  mill-pond,  house-lots  were  laid  out 
between  the  corner  on  Main  Street  and  the  Alms- 
house, —  running  to  the  brook  or  pond  on  the  north, 
and  extending  towards  the  southwest,  about  as  far 
as  Thoreau  Street.  On  the  Hastings  corner,  oppo- 
site the  Bank,  was  George  Wheeler  with  eleven 
acres;  and  then  came  Joshua  Wheeler,  with  four- 
teen acres,  Robert  Meriam,  twenty-six  acres  (Trin- 
itarian Church),  John  Wheeler,  ten  acres  and  one 
half^  (Nathan  B.  Stow's),  Lieutenant  Joseph  Wheeler, 
twenty  acres  (George  Everett's),  George  Merriam, 
thirty  acres  (the  Bartlett  place),  Nathaniel  Billings, 
six  acres  (Nathan  Derby's),  and  Samuel  Stratton, 
twenty-four  acres  ^  (Almshouse). 

On  and  near  Main  Street,  James  Smedly's  eigh- 
teen and  one  half  acres  lay  north  of,  and  adjacent  to 
the  burying-ground.     Going  westward,  in  the  order 

1  Bought  of  Thomas  Brooke,  1664.     Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  3.  f.  169. 

2  Bought  of  John  and  Thomas  Adams,  1634.  Middlesex  Deeds, 
L.  1.  ff.  167,  192. 


88  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 


named  were  John  Heywood,  four  acres  (next  to  the 
burying- ground),  William  Buss,  seven  acres,^  Edward 
Bulkeley,  eleven  acres,  John  Miles,  three  acres ;  and 
on  the  south  side  of  the  way,  John  Scotchford,  nine 
acres. 

On  Monument  Street,  going  north,  we  find,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  way,  Humphrey  Barrett  occupying 
a  house-lot  of  twelve  acres  (D.  Goodwin  Lang's); 
John  Jones,  eight  acres  (Sarah  B.  Prescott's)  ; 
John  Smedly,  ten  acres  (John  S.  Reyes's);  James 
Blood,  father  and  son,  fourteen  acres  (Elizabeth  B. 
Ripley's). 

Over  the  river,  were  Boaz  Browne  (Eli  Dakin's), 
Samuel  Hunt  (George  Keyes's),  Thomas  Browne 
(Edwin  S.  Barrett's),  Thomas  Bateman  (the  Edmund 
Hosmer  place),  William  Buttrick  (Joseph  Derby's), 
John  Flint  (Lewis  Flint's). 

Dorothy,  widow  of  John  Heald,  occupied  a  house- 
lot  of  seven  acres  where  the  heirs  of  Stedman 
Buttrick  now  live,  and  her  son  John  had  settled 
a  little  farther   northward.      Baptist   Smedly  lived 

^  Heywood  and  Buss  bound  their  respective  house-lots  on  the  south 
by  the  highway,  and  Buss  bounds  his  lot  on  the  west  "  by  Mr  Ed- 
ward Bulkely  and  the  highway."  The  Bulkeley  lot  was  bounded 
"  north  with  land  of  William  Buss,  east  with  the  highway,  south  with 
the  highway  &c."  It  would  seem  therefore,  that  the  road  which  once 
ran  to  the  northward  of  the  burying-ground  on  Main  Street,  after  tak- 
ing a  westerly  direction  on  the  hard  land,  must  have  turned  southward 
between  the  house-lots  of  Mr.  Bulkeley  and  William  Buss  at  a  point 
near  the  Prichard  place,  and  proceeded  thence  by  a  course  similar  to 
that  of  Sudbury  Street,  but  making  a  bend  farther  on.  in  order  to 
reach  the  South  Bridge. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  89 

near  Franklin  Dakin's,  and  Simon  Davis  near  Abel 
D.  Clark's. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  some  names  which  occur 
frequently  in  later  years  are  absent  from  this  list. 
Lee,  Minot,  Prescott,  Whittemore,  and  Chandler,  had 
not  yet  appeared.  Several  owners  of  large  estates 
failed  to  make  any  return,  —  among  them,  Peter 
Bulkeley,  Esq.,  Simon  Davis,  John  Hoar,  Edward 
Wright,  Captain  Timothy  Wheeler,  Thomas  Burgess, 
and  Christopher  Woolley. 

Captain  Wheeler  lived  in  the  house  built  by  Rev. 
Peter  Bulkeley,  and,  with  George  Wheeler,  as  joint 
owner,  was  in  possession  of  most  of  the  real  estate 
left  by  Mr.  Bulkeley,'  but  not  including  the  farm  at 
the  southeast,  which  soon  passed  into  other  hands. 
The  house-lot  and  mill-lot  comprised  thirty-one  acres, 
lying  on  both  sides  of  the  Mill  Brook.  If  Captain 
Wheeler  did  not  own  the  mill  privilege  at  this  time 
(1666),  he  acquired  it  very  soon  afterwards. 

John  Hoar  owned  upwards  of  three  hundred  acres 
lying  beyond  the  North  River,  in  the  west  part  of 
the  town,  and  including  land  now  owned  by  the 
Commonwealth.  The  bulk  of  this  he  conveyed,  in 
1671  or  1672,  to  Edward  Wright,  in  exchange  for 
an  estate  in  the  East  Quarter.^ 

1  See  deed  of  Grace  Bulkeley  to  Timothy  Wheeler  and  George 
Wheeler,  September  30,  1663.     Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  3,  f.  128. 

2  Part  of  the  consideration  received  by  Hoar  was  "  all  the  right 
title  &  interest  •w<^^  Edwai'd  Wright  of  Concord  aforesaid  husbandman 
hath  or  should  have  in  and  to  certain  houses  lands  &  hereditaments 
&c  in  the  Lordship  of  Castle  Browmick  (?)  in  the  Coun[ty]  of  War- 


90  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Peter  Bulkeley,  called  "Esquire,"  was  the  most 
distinguished  of  Concord  men  in  the  later  colonial 
days.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Edward  Bulkeley, 
was  born  January  3,  1641,  graduated  at  Harvard 
College  in  1660,  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Jo- 
seph Wheeler,  and  entered  very  early  upon  a  public 
career. 

Graduate  of  the  college,  and  scion  of  a  well-known 
and  highly  respected  family,  he  was  received  without 
hesitation  into  the  ranks  of  the  colonial  aristocracy. 
When  speaker  of  the  House  of  Deputies,  he  was 
chosen  to  go  to  England  with  Mr.  Stoughton,  as 
agent  for  the  colony  in  the  matter  of  the  Maine 
controversy.  The  mission  was  a  failure,  but  he  rose 
quickly  to  be  an  assistant,  and  commissioner  for  the 
United  Colonies ;  and  in  1685,  upon  the  dissolution 
of  the  old  charter,  and  his  failure  to  be  re-elected 
assistant,  he  became  a  member  of  Dudley's  Council. 

High  military  offices  were  his,  and  in  fact  his 
whole  life,  which  was  comparatively  short,  seems  to 
have  been  filled  with  honors,  and  devoted  to  the 
public  service.  But,  unfortunately,  by  his  associa- 
tions with  members   of    the    aristocratic   governing 

wick  in  the  Kingdom  of  England  by  virtue  of  a  deed  of  gift  made  by 
Edward  "Wright  of  Castle  Browmick  aforesaid  to  feoffees  in  trust  for 
the  use  of  Francis  Wright  sonn  and  heyre  apparent  of  the  said  Edward 
Wright  and  of  Mary  "Wiggin,  daughter  of  Jno:  "Wiggin  of  Aldridge 
in  the  Count[y]  of  Stafford  (before  the  solemnizing  of  a  marriage 
between  the  said  Francis  and  the  said  Mary)  &  to  their  heyres  &c  the 
said  deed  of  gift  being  now  in  the  hands  of  mee  the  said  John  Hoare, 
and  beareth  date  the  27tii  day  of  June  in  the  IQtii  year  of  King  James 
[1613]  &c."     See  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  4,  f.  409. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  91 

class  he  became  estranged  from  the  simple  country 
folk  among  whom  his  childhood  was  spent,  and  was 
induced  to  support  the  assumptions  of  the  court 
party  rather  than  the  just  claims  of  the  people. 
The  rushing  tide  of  events  cast  him  aside,  as  one 
for  whom  there  was  no  place  in  the  new  order  of 
things,  and  retiring  to  his  country  home,  he  died. 
May  24,  1688,  under  fifty  years  of  age,  after  a  pro- 
tracted illness,  and  leaving  an  insolvent  estate.^ 
According  to  the  historian  Hutchinson,^  "  it  was  said 
by  those  who  charged  Bulkley  with  too  great  com- 
pliance with  court  measures,  that  his  sun  set  in  a 
cloud.     He  died  of  melancholy." 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  lived  "  next  y^  mill- 
pond  "  (perhaps  where  Dr.  Barrett  now  lives),  but 
owned  a  farm  called  "  Brook  Meadow,"  lying  be- 
yond the  South  River,  with  a  house  and  barn  on 
it,  and  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  Iron  Works.  The 
farm,  comprising  forty-two  acres,  was  sold  to  Stephen 
Hosmer. 

An  increased  population,  and  the  hope  that  the 
plantation  had  now  weathered  the  storms  that  threat- 
ened its  earlier  existence,  combined  to  urge  upon 
the  people  the  need  of  a  more  commodious  and  bet- 
ter constructed  building  in  which  to  meet  on  Sundays 
for  worship,  and  on  week-days  for  lecture  or  the 
transaction  of  town  business.  Accordingly,  at  a  town 
meeting  held  January  27,  1668,  Captain  Timothy 
Wheeler,  Joseph  Wheeler,  and  John  Smedly,  were 

1  Hutchinson,  i.  314.  2  History,  ii.  123. 


92  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

chosen  a  committee  "  to  make  barganes  with  worke- 
men,  to  erecte  &  buld  &  finies  a  new  metting  house ;  " 
and  in  1672,  as  we  have  already  seen,^  the  selectmen 
were  instructed  to  examine  and  report  whether  the 
contract  had  been  fulfilled,  and  if  so,  to  adopt  meas- 
ures to  keep  out  the  w^ater  of  the  mill-pond,  which 
was  always  encroaching  upon  the  upland  of  the 
Common  and  wearing  it  away.^ 

The  new  house  was  built  on  the  Common,  not  far 
from  the  spot  occupied  by  the  present  building,  and 
exhibited  the  same  style  of  architecture  as  the  old 
meeting-house  at  Hingham,  built  in  1681,  which  had 
a  roof  of  pyramidal  shape,  with  dormer  windows,  and 
was  crowned  with  a  belfry.  The  bell-rope  hung 
down  to  the  centre  of  the  floor,  and  the  sexton  stood 
midway  between  the  main  entrance  and  the  pulpit 
when  he  rang  the  bell  to  call  the  people  together.^ 
In  the  earlier  times  the  people  were  accustomed  to 
assemble  at  the  sound  of  the  drum.* 


1  Ante,  p.  19. 

2  In  1747,  the  town  sold  to  Ephraim  Jones  the  Wright  Tavern  lot, 
described  as  "  a  part  of  the  broken  Ground  in  said  Town  between  the 
Training  Field  and  the  Wast  Water  (so  called)  ...  to  be  improved 
in  such  a  way  and  manner  as  to  prevent  the  Training  field  from  wast- 
ing away."  Captain  Jones  paid  the  town  £30,  and  also  gave  an  obli- 
gation *'  to  fill  up  a  part  of  the  remaining  broken  Ground  as  is  marked 
out  and  agreed  upon."     Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  89,  f.  173. 

8  Palfrey,  ii.  58,  note. 

*  All  meetings  for  town  purposes  were  held  in  the  meeting-house 
until  a  third  one  was  built,  in  1712,  after  which  time,  for  ten  years, 
"  the  old  meeting-house  "  was  devoted  to  town  meetings  and  the  ses- 
sions of  the  courts,  and  the  town  bell  was  suffered  to  remain  in  its  turret. 

In  1719,  however,  the  town  voted  to  build  a  new  house  "for  the 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  93 

The  town  pound  ^  stood  in  the  southeasterly  corner 
of  the  Common,  next  to  the  Thayer  lot.  Its  loca- 
tion is  fixed  by  the  description  in  the  town  records  of 
Thomas  Dane's  land,  and  by  tracing  the  title  of  the 
Thayer  lot,  to  which  the  parcel  hereafter  mentioned 
as  granted  to  Eleazer  Flagg  was  subsequently  added. 
It  appears  from  the  town  records  of  March  7",  1692, 
that 

"  Eliazer  Flagge  of  sd  town  did  Request  of  the  towne  a 
peese  of  Grownd  near  to  the  meting  house  y®  bredth  of  v® 
pownd  all  between  the  pownd  &  y«  mill  Brook  ajoining  to  y® 

Courts  and  Town  meetings,"  to  be  thirty-four  feet  long,  twenty-six 
feet  wide,  and  not  less  than  fourteen  feet  nor  more  than  sixteen  feet 
between  joints.  In  the  following  year  it  was  voted  that  the  old  meet- 
ing-house might  be  "  Improved  by  the  Committee  towards  the  building 
of  the  New  Town  house  either  by  pulling  of  it  down  or  selling  of  the 
same  according  to  their  discression. "  At  the  same  time  they  were 
authorized  "  to  set  the  [new]  house  where  they  shall  Jiidge  it  most 
Convenient,"  and  they  selected  a  spot  adjoining  the  Common  and  near 
the  easterly  side  of  the  old  school-house  lot.  In  1722  the  first  town 
meeting  was  held  in  the  new  building,  which  was  standing  in  1775; 
and  although  set  afire  on  the  19th  of  April  in  that  year,  it  was  pre- 
served until  the  building  of  the  first  Court  House,  on  the  lot  now 
occupied  by  the  building  of  the  Middlesex  Mutual  Fire  Insurance 
Company.  The  weather-vane,  bearing  the  date  "  1673,"  that  stood 
on  the  second  meeting-house,  and  afterwards  on  the  Court  House,  has 
been  preserved,  and  is  in  the  possession  of  Louis  A.  Surette.  A  fac- 
simile may  be  seen  in  the  Concord  Free  Public  Library. 

1  The  vote  of  Groton  in  1666  about  the  building  of  a  pound  will 
perhaps  serve  to  give  us  an  idea  of  what  this  inclosure  was  like: 
"  The  said  pound  is  to  be  made  thirty  feet  square,  six  sufficient  rails 
in  height,  not  exceeding  ten  feet  in  length,  the  rails  are  two  of  them 
to  be  pinned  at  each  end,  in  every  length;  they  [the  builders]  are  to 
make  the  gate,  and  to  find  the  irons,  and  to  hang  the  said  gate,  with  a 
lock  &  key  for  the  said  gate  for  the  use  of  the  town,  for  the  aforesaid 
£2,,  10s.  The  place  to  be  set  up  is  near  the  meeting-house."  Butler's 
History  of  Groton,  p.  41. 


94  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

land  y*  was  formerly  Thomas  Danes,  and  the  Inhabitants  did 
then  freely  Give  the  sayd  litle  plott  of  Ground  unto  the  sayd 
Eliazer  Flagge  to  set  his  tan  pits  upon  it  as  his  own  land." 

This  may  account  for  the  irregular  hne  of  the 
Common  at  this  corner.^ 

Inferior  only  to  the  meeting-house  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  planters  was  "  the  town  mill,"  placed  in 
the  middle  of  the  settlement  and  built  by  the  rev- 
erend pastor,^  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  an 
agreement  entered  into  with  the  inhabitants,  who 
granted  Mr.  Bulkeley,  besides  other  lands,  a  tract  of 
thirty-one  acres  upon  which  his  house  and  mill  stood, 
and  lying  between  the  mill-pond  and  the  river. 
They  gave  him,  also,  the  right  to  raise  the  water  to 
a  perpendicular  height  of  four  feet  ten  inches  from 
the  bottom  of  the  mill-trough,  and  the  privilege  of 
digging  on  the  Commons  for  clay  and  sand  to  be 
used  in  making  repairs. 

It  is  not  supposed  that  Mr.  Bulkeley  was  directly 
concerned  in  the  management  of  the  mill,  for,  in 
1639,  William  Fuller,^  "  w''^  kept  the  mill  at  Con- 
cord," was  fined  £o  "  for  grosse  abuse  in  overtoal- 

1  The  parcel  granted  as  above  set  forth,  I  judge  to  be  identical  with 
that  sold  by  Flagg  to  William  Clark  for  2Ss.,  July  5,  1717  (Middlesex 
Deeds,  L.  28,  f.  255),  and  described  as  "one  half  quarter  of  an 
acre  more  or  less  bounded  south  upon  the  mill  Brook  East  upon  Land 
of  said  William  Clark  on  every  other  side  upon  the  Pound  Meeting 
house  Green  or  Common  Land." 

2  A  deed  of  William  Buss  to  Grace  Bulkeley,  dated  May  4,  1668, 
(Middlesex  Deeds  L.  3,  f.  261)  recites  "the  purchase  of  the  towne 
milne  house  in  Concord,  built  by  the  aforesaid  M^  Peter  Bulkely." 

8  Mass.  Records,  i.  267. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  95 

ing."  In  1665  it  was  kept  by  William  Buss,  who 
was  warned  by  the  constable  to  answer  "  his  want 
of  scales  &  weights  in  his  mill."  ^  A  little  later 
it  passed  into  the  ownership  of  Captain  Timothy 
Wheeler,  who  willed  it  to  his  daughter  Rebecca 
Minott;  and  her  husband,  James  Minott,  worked  it 
for  many  years. 

The  waters  of  the  Mill  Brook,  augmented  by  a 
ditch  leading  from  the  westerly  end  of  Flint's  Pond, 
were  stemmed  at  the  place  still  known  as  the  "  Mill- 
dam,"  and  formed  a  pond  between  Walden  street  and 
the  Common.  The  old  ditch  that  first  conducted 
Flint's  Pond  water  through  our  village  was  easily 
identified  in  1874,  and  the  town  water-pipe  is  laid 
in  it  for  some  distance. 

As  early  as  1664,  George  Hayward  had  built  a 
saw-mill,  to  which  he  subsequently  added  a  corn-mill, 
in  the  southwest  part  of  the  town,  at  what  is  still 
known  as  Hayward's  Mills.  Ebenezer  Prout  built  a 
mill  on  the  outlet  of  Beaver  Pond,  by  reason  of 
which  the  place  was  long  afterwards  known  by  the 
name  of  "  Front's  Folly." 

Other  saw-mills  were  soon  put  up  in  various  parts 
of  the  township  :  one  by  Edward  Wright,  where  the 
Pail  Factory  now  is;  another  by  Richard  Temple,  on 
Spencer  Brook;  and  others  at  the  east  and  north, 
wherever  sufficient  water-power  could  be  obtained, 
to  assist  the  lumber-men  who  were  bent  on  sub- 
duing the  grandeur  of  primeval  growths  and  divert- 
ing them  to  the  uses  of  a  new  race. 

1  County  Court  Files. 


96  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

After  Mr.  Bulkeley's  death,  a  difference  arose 
between  his  widow,  Mrs.  Grace  Bulkeley,  and  the 
citizens,  concerning  the  extent  of  the  mill  privilege 
in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  the  subject  w\as 
deemed  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  investigated, 
in  1667,  by  a  committee  appointed  by  the  General 
Court,  on  her  petition,  when  the  rights  of  the  par- 
ties were  ascertained  and  made  known. 

The  committee  reported  ^  that,  after  hearing  testi- 
mony and  examining  the  town  records,  they  found 

"  a  great  neglect  on  Mr.  Bulkle3''s  part,  in  not  making  his 
couenant  w*^  the  toune  so  cleare  as  might  have  been  necessary 
for  his  oune  security,  3'et  so  much  is  acknouledged  by  seuerall  of 
the  inhabitants,  w'^'*  doe  3'et  speake  to  the  trueth  &  substance  of 
the  same,  that  ffrom  W^  wee  haue  drawne  vp  these  conclu- 
sions to  present  to  this  honoured  Court  in  refFerence  to  the 
premises :  — 

1.  That  the  ounors  of  the  sajd  mill  shall  have  liberty  from 
tjme  to  time,  &  at  all  tjmes,  to  rajse  the  water  fowre  ffoote 
tenn  inches  perpendiccular  ffrom  the  bottome  of  the  mill  troffe, 
as  now  it  lieth  at  the  head  of  the  milne  pond,  but  the  wast  or 
low  shott  not  to  be  made  narrower  then  now  it  is,  or  to  be 
ra3'sed  higher  then  to  rajse  the  water  (at  the  head  of  the  pond) 
to  fower  ffoot  seuen  inches  ffrom  the  bottom  of  the  milne  troffe 
before  the  water  runns  ouer  the  wast. 

2.  What  land  lyeth  vnder  water,  by  reason  of  the  milne 
pond,  at  such  a  head  of  water  as  aforesajd,  shall  be  the  propriet3' 
&  propper  right  of  the  ounors  of  the  sajd  mill  for  euer,  except- 
ing alwa3'es  that  land  which  the  toune  of  Concord  haue  formerly 
granted  to  an3'  of  their  inhabitants,  all  w<=*^  land  each  proprietor 
shall  enjoy  according  to  his  toune  grant  after  the  mill  is  wholly 
disannulled. 

^  Mass.  Records,  iv.,  pt.  ii.  379. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  97 

3.  The  ounors  of  the  sajd  mill  for  ener  shall  not  be  liable 
to  sattisfy  any  damage  donn  to  an}'  person  or  persons  whatso- 
euer,  by  such  a  head  of  water  kept  &  majntejned  as  before  sajd. 

4.  The  ounors  of  the  sajd  mill  foreuer  shall  enjo}'  the  benefit 
of  all  that  water  w'=^  ma}'  be  obteyned  by  an}'  meanes  formerly 
attempted  i.  e.  to  the  higth  of  such  a  head  of  water  as  afore- 
sajd,  w*'^  water  shall  not  be  diverted  by  any  person  or  persons 
whatsoeuer. 

5.  Lastly.  The  ounors  of  the  sajd  mill  foreuer  shall  enjoy 
priuiledge  on  the  coiuons  for  clay  &  sand  convenient  for  the 
repaire  of  the  mill  damage  from  tjme  to  tjme  as  formerly  they 
haue  enjoyed. 

Symon  "Willard 
Jno  Founell,  & 
Jonathan  Danforth. 
The  Court  approoves  of  this  return." 

A  prolonged  search  has  failed  to  disclose  any  re- 
cord of  the  original  dedication  of  the  two  old  bury- 
ing-grounds  to  the  pnrpose  they  have  served  so  long. 
Both  were  used  as  places  of  burial,  and  are  so  desig- 
nated in  the  tow^n  records,  as  early  as  1673,  but  the 
description  of  Thomas  Dane's  house-lot  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  "  buryall  hill "  was  probably 
made  about  ten  years  earlier.  The  stone  bearing 
the  earliest  date  is  that  erected  on  the  hill  in  memory 
of  Joseph  Meriam.  The  date  is  1677.  There  is  no 
monument  or  epitaph  to  mark  the  resting-place  of 
any  who  died  during  the  first  forty-two  years. 

If  the  tradition  as  to  the  site  of  the  first  meeting- 
house is  accepted,  we  should  naturally  expect  to  find 
that  the  early  families  buried  their  dead  as  near  as 
might  be  to  their  place  of  public  worship,  after  the 
manner  to  which  they  had  been  accustomed  in  their 

7 


98  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

old  home.^  This  would  account  for  the  use  of  the 
hillside ;  and  after  the  lapse  of  thirty  or  forty  years, 
the  need  of  additional  space  would  be  felt,  and  it 
may  be  that  the  inclosure  on  Main  Street,  first  men- 
tioned in  1673,  came  into  use  about  that  time. 

There  have  been  family  traditions  that  one  or  the 
other  of  these  grounds  was  a  gift  to  the  town  from 
some  ancestor;  but  these  traditions  lack  confirma- 
tion, and  it  seems  quite  as  credible,  in  the  absence 
of  other  evidence  of  a  gift  or  purchase,  that  both 
inclosures  consist  of  land  that  was  never  granted  or 
allotted  to  any  individual,  and  is  still  owned  in 
common  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  by  virtue 
of  the  original  grant,  subject  however,  to  whatever 
burial  rights  persons  or  families  may  possess. 

The  road  which  was  originally  laid  out  so  as  to 
pass  to  the  east  and  north  of  the  burying-ground  on 
Main  Street  was  discontinued  March  6,  1693,  and 
the  land  granted  by  the  following  vote  of  the  town 
to  Jonathan  Prescott,  a  large  landowner,  who  lived 
where  Dr.  Barrett  now  lives. 

"  Then  was  Granted  unto  L*  Jonathan  Prescote  at  his  Re- 
quest Jointly  by  the  sayd  Inhabitants  the  highway  upon  the  west 
side  of  his  house  b'ing  between  the  Berring  Plac[e]  and  the  land 
that  the  s*  Prescot  bought  &  was  formerl}'  Georg  Wheelers 
deceased,  from  the  common  Road  to  the  land  of  James  Smedly, 
■yych  highway  is  two  Rods  wide  the  sayd  Prescote  is  to  maintaine 
or  case  to  be  made  up  a  sufficient  fence  betwixt  the  saj'd  high- 
way now  Granted  &  the  burying  place,  and  to  maintaine  the 

^  The  first  meeting-house  in  Sudbury  stood  in  what  is  now  the 
oldest  cemetery  iu  Wayland.     Drake's  Middlesex,  ii.  463. 


CONCORD  m  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  99 

same  for  ever,  and  the  saj'd  Inhabitants  do  Grant  the  premeses 
unto  s?  Prescote  for  ever  unto  him  and  his  heirs  upon  the  sajd 
condition  the  day  above  mentioned."  ^ 

1  The  following  items  are  added  from  the  town  records:  — 

May  9,  1710,  "  Whereas  there  hath  beene  sum  demm-  in  ye  Town 
that  ye  bounds  of  ye  Buring  place  on  ye  hill  side  by  Danill  Pellitts 
have  not  bene  so  well  looked  after  as  they  should  and  that  the  sd 
bounds  thereof  be  no  longer  neglected  ^ppounded  y'  there  be  a  com- 
mitte  of  3  men  chosen  in  each  part  of  the  Town  one  viz..  Ensign 
Thomas  Browne.  Sa'  John  Wheeler  Mr  Nathanill  Billings:  to  Requier 
Danill  pellitt  to  Renue  the  Lins  and  stake  out  the  bounds  of  sd  buring 
plase ;  and  s^l  committe  to  make  Report  of  their  doings  to  the  next  town 
meeting  voted  on  the  affirmative." 

September  25,  1719,  Joseph  Dakin  was  paid  £4.  19s.  Qd.  "  in  full 
for  fenceing  the  burying  places." 

The  town  voted  November  15,  1726,  to  "  fence  the  burying  places," 
and  "  that  they  should  be  fenced  with  good  Stone  waU  not  less  than 
four  feet  and  [one]  half  high." 

November  25, 1745,  "  Voted  that  the  affair  Relating  to  the  Securing 
the  Bounds  of  the  Burying  Place  on  the  Hill,  and  keeping  it  from 
wearing  away  be  Left  to  the  discression  of  the  Selectmen." 

April  8,  1746,  "  Abishai  Brown  was  paid  £20  for  his  making  a 
stone  wall  on  the  Lower  side  of  the  burying  place  on  the  Hill." 


CHAPTER  V. 


"  Alas  for  them  !  their  day  is  o'er ; 
Their  fires  are  out  from  hill  and  shore  ; 
No  more  for  them  the  wild  deer  bounds ; 
The  plough  is  on  their  hunting-grounds ; 
The  pale  man's  axe  rings  in  their  woods  ■, 
The  pale  man's  sail  skims  o'er  their  floods  ; 
Their  pleasant  springs  are  dry." 

Spkagub. 

"  "Who  liveth  by  the  ragged  pine, 
Foundeth  a  heroic  line." 

Emeeson. 

Eelations  with  the  Indians.  —  King  Philip's  War.  —  Fight 
AT  Brookfield.  —  Nashoba  Indians.  —  Constable  John 
Heywood's  Return. 


Fkom  the  very  beginning,  the  relations  existing  be- 
tween the  colonists  and  the  natives,  their  immediate 
neighbors,  portended  mischief.  The  latter,  even 
where  they  met  with  kind  treatment  and  the  desire 
to  do  them  justice,  as  was  the  case  in  Concord, 
were  universally  despised  as  heathen,  and  feared 
because  suspected  of  being  in  league  with  the  powers 
of  darkness.  "  The  Indian,"  says  Mr.  Emerson, 
"  seemed  to  inspire  such  a  feeling  as  the  wild  beast 
inspires  in  the  people  near  his  den."  ^  The  Concord 
men,  under  the  wise  suggestions  of  Mr.  Bulkeley,  of 

1  Historical  Discourse. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  101 

Willard  and  Flint,  showed  a  desire  to  live  on  peace- 
able terms  with  their  unpleasant  neighbors,  and  a 
willingness  to  impart  to  them  such  instruction  in  the 
elements  of  Christianity  and  common  decency  as 
seemed  best  adapted  to  their  condition. 

Willard  and  Flint  assisted  them  in  drawing  up  a 
code  for  the  regulation  of  their  conduct,  very  prac- 
tical in  its  details,  and  affording,  it  is  fair,  to  sup- 
pose, evidence  of  what  were  the  native's  most  easily 
besetting  sins.^ 

In  1654,  Thomas  Brooke,  Senior,  of  Concord,  and 
William  Cowdrey  of  Reading,  were  appointed  for  the 
County  of  Middlesex  "  to  sell  wine  of  any  sort  & 
Strong  liquors  to  the  Indians,  as  to  their  judgments 
shall  seeme  most  meete  and  necessary."  ^  The 
licensed  persons  were  forbidden  to  deliver  to  any 
one  Indian  more  than  a  pint  of  liquor  at  a  time, 
but  what  was  lacking,  by  reason  of  this  restriction, 
was  more  than  made  up  from  irresponsible  traders, 
whose  cupidity  knew  no  law.  Prosecutions  for 
selling  intoxicating  liquor  to  Indians  were  not 
infrequent,  and  there  appears  to  have  been  no 
unwillingness  on  the  part  of  the  buyer  to  say  where 
he  obtained  it. 

The  natives  were  employed  to  some  extent  by 
the  English  in  haying  time,  and  at  harvest,  but 
they  preferred  the  more  congenial  occupations  of 
hunting  and  fishing,  and  making  brooms,  staves, 
eel-pots,  and  baskets,  for  which  they  found  a  market 

1  Shepard.  2  Mass.  Records,  iii.  369. 


102  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

among  the  whites.  Thej  also  brought  to  market, 
in  the  season,  huckleberries,  strawberries,  cranber- 
ries, grapes,  and  venison.^  Thus  by  the  exercise  of 
tact  and  by  doing  justly,  the  people  of  Concord  suc- 
ceeded in  preserving  the  friendly  relations  established 
in  the  beginning,  until  the  outbreak  of  hostilities 
in  1675,  under  the  direction  of  Philip.  *' No  Indian 
shall  come  into  an  English  man's  house,"  so  ran 
the  old  agreement,  "  except  he  first  knock ;  and 
this  they  expect  from  the  English."^ 

It  cannot,  however,  be  said  with  truth  that  a  like 
state  of  feeling  prevailed  through  the  colony.  The 
Indians  of  New  England  were  treated  as  inferior 
races  have  always  been  treated,  whenever  they 
crossed  the  path  of  a  conquering  people.  In  this 
case  the  weaker  party,  besides  being  few  in  numbers, 
were  idle,  filthy,  and  shiftless;  but  as  human  beings, 
they  were  entitled  to  some  consideration,  to  say 
the  least.  They  had  stanch  friends,  like  Eliot  and 
Gookin,  but  it  must  be  admitted  that  there  never 
was  a  disposition,  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  in  gen- 
eral, to  see  any  good  in  an  Indian. 

Take  a  few  instances  from  our  own  neighborhood : 

Thomas  Dublet,  a  Concord  Indian,  was  convicted 

of  an  assault  upon  one  of  the  English,  and  sentenced 

to  pay  a  fine  of  £20,  in  default  whereof  he  was  "  to 

be  sold  to  such  as  would  buy  him."  ^     This  man  was 

'  Letter  of  John  Eliot,  printed  with  Shepard's  "  Cleare  Sunshine." 

2  Shepard. 

8  County  Court  Records,  Oct.  2,  1660. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  103 


subsequently  of  great  service  in  procuring  the  re- 
lease of  Mrs.  Kowlandson  from  captivity. 

Henry,  Indian,  servant  of  James  Blood,  convicted, 
on  his  own  confession,  of  burglary  and  theft,  was 
sentenced  to  restore  three-fold ;  but  when  he  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  work  out  the  sentence  as  an 
apprentice  at  sea,  the  court  ordered  that  he  should 
be  "  disposed  of  &  sold  for  such  time  as  may  availe 
to  perform  the  sentence  of  the  court,"  and  to  pay  a 
fine  of  forty  shillings.^ 

As  illustrating  the  value  put  upon  an  Indian's 
word.  Goody  Draper,  of  Concord,  was  "  convicted  of 
selling  strong  water  to  Indians,  so  far,"  says  the 
cautious  scribe,  "  as  Indian  testimony  may  be  ac- 
counted legall  &  valid."  No  penalty  was  inflicted, 
except  to  admonish  her  "  of  her  evil  therein,"  and  to 
order  her  "  to  pay  the  witnesses  their  costs,  to  Davy 
&  his  wife,  six  shillings,  and  unto  Josiah,  seven  shill- 
ings &  six  pence."  ^ 

The  law  prescribed  that  all  cattle  should  be  marked, 
and  each  town  had  its  distinguishing  brand.  The 
larger  animals  were  collected  into  a  herd  and  driven 
to  Fairhaven,  to  Captain  Wheeler's  farm  in  the  New 
Grant,  or  to  some  other  convenient  feeding-place. 

While  the  crops  were  in  the  ground,  swine  were 
herded  on  a  large  tract  of  land  near  Annursnack 
Hill,  known  for  a  long  time  as  the  ^'  Hog  Pens." 
After  the   crops  were   gathered   the   animals  were 

1  County  Court  Records,  Feb.  11, 1690. 

2  Ibid.,  Oct.  6,  1663. 


104  CONCORD  m  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

allowed  to  run  at  large,  but  the  owner  lost  all  claim 
to  them  unless  they  bore  some  "  ear-mark."  This 
regulation  was  adopted  by  the  colonial  government 
because  it  was  observed  that,  whenever  the  animals 
had  attained  to  any  considerable  size,  Indians  ap- 
peared in  the  settlements  with  pork  to  sell. 

Suspicions  that  the  English  were  buying  their  own 
property  led  to  the  enactment  of  a  law  that  all  swine 
owned  by  Englishmen  should  be  marked  on  their 
ears,  but  that  the  Indians  should  not  mark  their 
swine ;  and  furthermore,  if  they  offered  to  sell  pork 
to  the  English  they  were  required  to  bring  at  the 
same  time  the  swine's  ears  whole,  or  the  meat  was 
forfeited.-^  This  regulation  would  easily  commend  it- 
self; for  not  only  was  it  calculated  to  discourage  theft, 
but  the  natural  result  of  its  enforcement  would  be, 
practically,  to  give  the  whites  the  control  of  the  pork 
market. 

The  Indian  outbreak  commonly  known  as  King 
Philip's  War  began  in  June,  1675,  and  lasted  four- 
teen months,  imperilling  the  very  existence  of  the 
colonies  of  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  Bay. 

This  town  was  spared  the  horrors  that  accompa- 
nied the  inroads  of  the  enemy  in  other  less  favored 
quarters.  Hither  came  the  jealous  occupants  of 
Blood's  Farms  seeking  a  shelter  from  the  threat- 
ening foe,  and  the  homeless  people  of  Groton  and 
Lancaster  found  here  refuge  and  relief.  No  hostile 
foot  carried  tomahawk  and  fagot  within  the  bounds 

1  Mass.  Records,  iv.  pt.  ii.  512,  513. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  105 

of  the  original  grant,  and  the  old  men,  women, 
and  children  slept  undisturbed  by  the  dreadful  cry 
in  the  dark. 

There  was,  however,  no  sense  of  peaceful  security. 
All  the  men  of  military  age  were  enrolled,  and  were 
constantly  employed  in  manning  the  garrisons  of  the 
frontier  and  scouting  from  town  to  town  in  small 
parties.  In  the  fight  at  the  Narragansett  Fort,  Con- 
cord's share  of  the  casualties  was  George  Hayward, 
killed,  and  Abraham  Temple  and  Thomas  Browne, 
wounded.  A  detachment  from  Concord  was  decoyed 
into  an  ambush  at  Sudbury,  April  21,  1676,  and  ten 
were  slain.  Shattuck^  was  able  to  ascertain  the 
names  of  five  only,  viz. :  James  Hosmer,  Samuel 
Potter,  John  Barnes,  Daniel  Comy,  and  Joseph 
Buttrick.  The  Middlesex  Probate  Records  supply 
the  additional  names  of  Josiah  Wheeler,  David 
Curry,  and  Jacob  Farrar.^ 

Isaac  Shepard  was  surprised  and  slain  on  his 
farm  near  Nashoba,  in  February ;  and,  on  March  10th, 
according  to  Hubbard,^  two  men  were  going  for  hay 
at  Concord,  and  one  of  them  was  killed.     Whether 

1  History,  p.  58. 

2  Captain  Hugh  Mason's  company  from  Watertown  went  to  the 
succor  of  Wadsworth's  command,  and  their  account  of  finding  the 
bodies  of  five  Concord  men  on  the  east  side  of  the  river  is  as  follovrs : — 

"  On  the  next  day  in  the  morning,  so  soon  as  it  was  light,  we  went 
to  look  for  Concord  men  who  were  slain  in  the  river  meadow,  and  there 
we  went  in  the  cold  water  up  to  our  knees,  where  we  found  5,  and 
brought  them  in  canoes  to  the  bridge-foot  and  buried  them  there." 
Mass.  Archives,  v.  68,  p.  224. 

8  History,  p.  217. 


106  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

the  statement  of  the  latter  occurrence  should  be 
considered  as  a  brief  allusion  to  the  attack  on  the 
Shepards,  which  had  already  been  noted,  is  somewhat 
uncertain;  very  likely  it  was  nothing  but  a  flying 
report  that  reached  the  historian  at  Ipswich,  and 
was  recorded  without  any  attempt  to  learn  the  name 
of  the  victim.  On  the  page  next  following  is  the 
detailed  account  of  the  killing  of  Isaac  and  Jacoh 
Shepard. 

There  is  no  suggestion  either  by  Hubbard  or  Shat- 
tuck,  as  to  the  name  of  the  man  who  was  killed 
while  going  for  hay,  and  the  whole  thing  rests  upon 
the  statement  of  an  author  not  celebrated  for  accu- 
racy, who  was  writing  at  such  a  distance  and  under 
such  circumstances  that  it  was  very  easy  to  confound 
one  place  with  another,  and  to  record  as  happening  in 
Concord  events  which  in  reality  occurred  elsewhere. 

The  story  of  the  attack  on  the  Shepard  family  is 
told  by  the  last  named  author  as  follows  :  ^  — 

"  About  the  middle  of  February  [1676],  Abraham  and  Isaac 
Shepherd  were  killed  near  Nashobah  in  Concord  village,  while 
threshing  grain  in  their  barn.  Apprehensive  of  danger,  saj-s 
tradition,  thej^  placed  their  sister  Mar}',  a  girl  about  fifteen 
years  old,  on  a  hill  a  little  distance  off  to  watch  and  forewarn 
them  of  the  approach  of  an  enenl3^  She  was,  however,  sud- 
denly surprised  and  captured,  and  her  brothers  slain.  She  was 
carried  captive  into  the  Indian  settlements,  but  with  great  hero- 
ism made  her  escape.  While  the  Indians  were  asleep  in  the 
night,  probably  under  the  influence  of  spirituous  liquors,  she 
seized  a  horse,  which  they  had  a  few  days  before  stolen  at 
Lancaster,  took  a  saddle  from  under  the  head  of  her  Indian 

1  Shattuck,  p.  54.     See  also  p.  384. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  107 

keeper,  mounted,   swam   across   the   Nashua  River,  and  rode 
through  the  forest  to  her  home."  ^ 

It  appears  from  the  Probate  Records  that,  on  June 
20,  1676,  administration  on  the  estate  of  "Isaac 
Shepard  late  of  Concord "  was  awarded  to  Mary 
Shepard  his  "  rehct  widow,"  jointly  with  ''Abram 
Shepard  her  brother."  Clearly,  then,  Isaac  was 
killed  and  Abraham  administered  upon  his   estate. 

The  widow  of  the  former  was  Mary,  the  daughter 
of  Baptist  Smedly ;  and  the  inventory  discloses  a  re- 
spectable property,  among-  other  things,  "A  farme 
at  Nashobe,  one  house  one  barn  12  ac''^  of  broken 
up  land  10  of  meadow  with  the  rest  of  the  ffarme," 
—  all  valued  at  <£150. 

As  the  evidence  stands,  we  cannot  be  assured  that 
more  than  one  man  (Isaac  Shepard)  was  killed  by 

^  Hubbard's  History,  and  a  "  Century  Sermon  "  preached  by  Rey. 
Edmund  Foster,  of  Littleton,  in  1815,  a  copy  of  which  is  preserved  in 
the  Congregational  Library,  in  Boston,  are  cited  as  authorities.  The 
statements  contained  in  the  sermon  are  based  expressly  upon  the 
account  furnished  by  Hubbard.  Hubbard  says  (History  of  the  Indian 
Wars,  p.  217)  :  "  March  10th,  at  Concord  two  men  going  for  hay  one  of 
them  was  killed ;  "  and  again  (p.  218) :  "  Also  two  men  were  killed  at 
a  farm  about  Concord,  Isaac  and  Jacob  about  the  middle  of  February, 
&  a  young  maid  that  was  set  to  watch  upon  a  hill,  of  about  fifteen 
years  of  age,  was  carried  captive,  who  strangely  escaped  away  upon  a 
horse,  that  the  Indians  had  taken  from  Lancaster  a  little  before." 

It  has  been  commonly  stated  on  the  authority  of  these  two  extracts 
from  Hubbard,  that  three  men  were  killed  in  Concord  by  the  Indians. 
It  will  be  noticed,  however,  that  Hubbard  gives  the  name  of  one  of 
the  victims  as  "Jacob,"  instead  of  Abraham;  but  an  examination  of 
the  town  records  and  other  sources  of  information  fails  to  disclose  any 
evidence  that  a  person  named  Jacob  Shepard  ever  lived  or  died  in 
Concord. 


108  CONCOKD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Indians  within  the  limits  of  Concord.  There  may 
have  been  one  more,  but  our  only  authority  is  Hub- 
bard's brief  and  vague  paragraph,  to  which  the 
researches  of  Mr.  Shattuck  added  nothing. 

But  what  claims  our  attention  above  all  else,  is 
the  expedition  of  Captain  Edward  Hutchinson,  un- 
dertaken in  the  summer  of  1G75,  after  hostilities 
had  begun  in  Plymouth.  The  "  Narrative  "  written 
by  Captain  Thomas  Wheeler  is  the  epic  of  colonial 
times. 

Captain  Hutchinson  was  commissioned  by  the 
Council  at  Boston  to  proceed  to  the  Nipmuck  coun- 
try, so  called,  in  what  is  now  Worcester  county,  and 
confer  with  the  Indians  there,  for  the  purpose  of 
preventing,  if  possible,  any  extension  of  Philip's  in- 
fluence in  that  direction.  Captain  Thomas  Wheeler, 
of  Concord,  who  was  already  advanced  in  years, 
and  had  commanded  the  western  troop  of  horse  ever 
since  its  organization,  was  ordered  to  accompany 
Hutchinson,  with  an  escort  of  twenty  or  twenty-five 
men  of  his  company. 

Accordingly  they  set  out  from  Cambridge,  and  ar- 
rived at  Quabaug,  or  Brookfield,  on  Sunday,  August 
1st.  Here  they  received  information  that  the  Indians 
whom  they  had  expected  to  meet  had  withdrawn  to 
a  place  about  ten  miles  distant,  towards  the  north- 
west. A  detachment  of  four  men  was  sent  forward 
to  assure  them  of  the  peaceable  character  of  the 
expedition,  and  a  meeting  was  agreed  upon  for  the 
next  morning,  at  8  o'clock,  on  a  plain  within  three 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  109 


miles  of  the  town.  There  was  some  apprehension 
of  treachery,  but  prominent  citizens  of  Brookfield 
not  only  expressed  confidence  in  the  good  intentions 
of  the  savages,  but  declared  their  own  willingness 
to  be  present  at  the  conference;  and  Hutchinson 
decided  that  the  appointment  must  be  kept. 

The  Indians,  however,  did  not  appear,  and  this  fact, 
together  with  other  suspicious  circumstances,  led  the 
sagacious  Wheeler  to  think  that  to  venture  further 
would  be  unwise.  But  Hutchinson  was  unwilling  to 
abandon  his  mission  with  nothing  accomplished,  and, 
in  deference  to  his  wishes,  the  order  was  given  to 
advance  towards  a  swamp  where  the  savages  were 
supposed  to  be  lurking.  As  they  proceeded,  the 
narrowness  of  the  path,  with  the  swamp  on  one  side 
and  a  rocky  hill  on  the  other,  forced  men  and  horses 
to  march  in  single  file.  Suddenly  the  war-whoop 
resounded,  and  the  advancing  column  was  assailed 
by  a  volley  of  arrows  and  bullets  discharged  from 
behind  trees  and  bushes,  killing  eight  men,  wound- 
ing five,  and  throwing  the  line  into  disorder,  which 
was  materially  increased  by  the  difficulty  of  turning 
about  or  passing  by  in  the  straitened  passageway. 

Captain  Wheeler  spurred  his  horse  up  the  hillside, 
when,  finding  himself  unhurt  and  perceiving  that 
some  of  his  men  had  fallen  under  the  fire  of  the 
enemy,  who  were  now  rushing  forward  to  finish  their 
work,  he  turned  about  and  dashed  boldly  forward  to 
attack  them.  This  movement  separated  him  for  a 
few  moments  from  his  men.     A  well-directed  shot 


110  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

killed  his  horse  and  brought  the  old  man  to  the 
ground,  wounded,  and  it  would  soon  have  been  all 
over  with  the  brave  captain  had  not  his  son  Thomas, 
who  was  also  wounded,  come  to  the  rescue.  Quickly 
dismounting,  he  placed  his  father  in  the  saddle,  and 
ran  by  his  side  until  he  caught  another  horse  that 
had  lost  its  rider,  and  so  the  two  escaped  with  their 
lives,  but  suffering  severely  from  their  wounds. 

This  was  merely  the  beginning.  Hutchinson  had 
received  a  wound  that  caused  his  death  in  a  few 
days,  and  now  the  task  of  extricating  the  command 
from  its  perilous  situation  devolved  upon  Captain 
"Wheeler.  It  was  performed  in  masterly  fashion. 
Keeping  to  the  open  country  and  avoiding  the 
woods,  they  retraced  their  way,  with  the  assistance 
of  friendly  Indian  guides,  to  the  village  of  Brook- 
field,  took  possession  of  one  of  the  largest  and 
strongest  houses,  and  fortified  it  as  best  they  could.^ 

They  had  not  long  to  wait  before  the  enemy  ap- 
peared in  superior  numbers  and  attacked  the  strong- 
hold with  vigor.  The  captain's  disability  brought  to 
the  front  Lieutenant  Simon  Davis,  another  Concord 
man,  who  fought  and  prayed  with  a  fervor  that  re- 
minds one  of  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell.  To  him, 
associated  with  James  Richardson  and  John  Fiske,  of 
Chelmsford,  the  direction  of  affairs  was  entrusted. 


1  In  his  certificate  given  to  Joseph  and  Sampson,  Captain  Wheeler 
speaks  of  their  services  in  "the  inn  at  Brookfield."  It  is  possible 
that  the  inn  was  the  building  that  was  chosen  for  a  fortification.  See 
Wheeler's  certificate,  printed  in  Gookin's  History. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  HI 

Two  men  despatched  to  Boston  for  assistance  were 
unable  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  besiegers,  and 
were  obliged  to  return.  The  Indians  piled  hay 
and  other  combustibles  against  the  side  of  the  house 
and  set  fire  to  them,  thus  forcing  the  English  to 
expose  themselves  in  their  efforts  to  extinguish  the 
flames.  Their  bows  shot  arrows  tipped  with  "  wild 
fire,"  which  alighted  on  the  buildings  within  the 
enclosure  and  set  them  afire.  To  get  their  com- 
bustible materials  close  to  the  walls,  a  remarkable 
engine  fourteen  rods  long  was  constructed  by  the 
savages,  of  poles  and  barrels,  which  they  trundled 
forward  on  its  menacing  errand. 

For  three  days  and  nights  this  horrible  warfare 
continued.  The  besieged  were  compelled  to  witness 
the  mutilation  of  their  dead  comrades  who  had  fallen 
outside,  and  to  endure  as  best  they  could  the  jeers 
and  taunts  of  the  foe.  Rain  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  little  band,  by  putting  out  the  fires  of  their 
assailants,  and  rendering  it  difficult  to  kindle  new 
ones.  Davis,  who  is  said  to  have  been  "  of  a  lively 
spirit,"  exhorted  his  men  to  remember  that  God 
was  fighting  on  their  side,  and  to  take  good  aim 
before  firing.  The  prayers  and  hymns  of  the  sol- 
diers, borne  out  on  wings  of  fire  and  smoke,  were 
answered  by  cries  of  the  unregenerate  heathen,  who 
gave  utterance  to  hideous  groanings  in  imitation  of 
the  singing,  of  psalms. 

Twice  did  brave  Ephraim  Curtis  attempt  to  make 
his  way  through  the  enemy's  line  to  go  for  succor. 


112  CONCORD  m  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Twice  was  he  compelled  to  return  baffled.  The 
third  time,  by  great  exertions  and  crawling  for  a 
considerable  distance  on  his  hands  and  knees,  he 
succeeded  in  reaching  Marlborough,  where  he  gave 
the  alarm ;  and  on  the  evening  of  the  4th,  the  garri- 
son was  overjoyed  at  the  arrival  of  their  old  neighbor 
and  friend,  Major  Willard,  with  a  force  of  forty-six 
soldiers  and  five  Indians,  who,  hearing  at  Marlbor- 
ough of  their  distress,  had  altered  his  course  to 
come  to  their  relief  Towards  morning,  the  Indians 
departed,  having  first  set  fire  to  all  the  houses 
except  that  which  sheltered  the  whites. 

Of  the  Concord  men,  Samuel  Smedly^  was  killed 

1  Samuel  Smedly  was  son  of  Baptist  Smedly.     His  sister  Mary 
married  for  her  first  husband  Isaac  Shepard,  wlio  six  months  after- 
wards was  killed  by  the  Indians  on  liis  farm  at  Nashoba.     Two  inven- 
tories  of   Samuel's   estate   are  preserved   in   the   Middlesex   Probate 
Records,  which  say  that  he  was  "  slean  by  The  Indians  at  quapoge." 
They  contain,  among  other  items,  the  following: 
"  2  horses  lost  in  the  Countrys  sarvis     06.  0.  0." 
"  2  horses  was  kild  with  him  at  the  fEght  at  quapoge." 
In  1693-95,  Samuel,  son  of  the  Samuel  above  named,  and  his  aunt, 
then  Mrs.  Jewell,  convey  the  homestead  owned  by  their  grandfather, 
Baptist  Smedly,  to  Adam  Winthrop,  of  Boston. 

The  death  of  his  st  u  was  too  heavy  a  blow  for  the  already  severely 
taxed  powers  of  the  aged  father,  and  the  tragedy  was  made  complete 
by  the  death  of  Baptist  Smedly,  only  a  fortnight  after  the  loss  of 
his  son.  After  devising  a  portion  of  his  real  estate  to  the  wife  and 
children  of  his  son-in-law,  Isaac  Shepard,  he  says  in  his  will  : 
"furthrmore  I  give  unto  them  my  Grandchild  Jabesh  Rutter  till  he 
come  to  the  age  of  twenty-one  years."  The  "  prizers  "  who  made  an 
inventory  of  the  estate  included  the  following  item:  "  His  Grandchild 
Jabesh  Rutter  008.  00.  00."  This  was  probably  meant  as  their  esti- 
mate of  the  value  of  the  boy's  sei'vices  until  he  should  become  of  age, 
but  at  first  sight  the  item  is  somewhat  startling. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  113 

at  the  swamp,  and  Henry  Young  was  shot  while 
looking  out  of  an  attic  window.  It  has  already 
been  stated  that  Captain  Wheeler  was  severely 
wounded,  and  his  son  was  detained  at  Brookfield 
for  several  weeks  by  the  injuries  he  had  received. 

It  is  easy  to  believe  that  the  captain  and  the  re- 
mainder of  his  troop  received  a  hearty  welcome  on 
their  return  home.  The  town  kept  the  21st  day 
of  October,  1675,  as  "a  day  of  praise  and  thanks- 
giving to  God  for  their  remarkable  deliverance  and 
safe  return.'*  Men  from  Billerica,  Chelmsford,  and 
Sudbury  took  an  honorable  part  in  this  affair.  The 
services  of  Ephraim  Curtis,  of  Sudbury,  were  espe- 
cially valuable ;  but  we  may  say  with  truth  that  it 
was  a  battle  in  which  Concord  men  were  foremost  in 
the  display  of  courage,  and  the  rarer  qualities  that 
constitute  good  leadership. 

Our  interest  in  the  story  is  not  marred  by  any 
doubts  concerning  the  morality  of  the  purpose  and 
objects  of  the  expedition,  as  is  the  case  when  we 
read  of  Lovewell's  Fight,  and  other  contests,  in  the 
eighteenth  century.  The  Indians  appear  to  have 
behaved  very  badly  from  the  beginning.  They  were 
guilty  of  an  unprovoked  and  treacherous  assault 
upon  a  party  whose  purpose  was  one  of  peace 
and  friendship.  The  mission  was  an  honorable  one 
and  faithfully  discharged;  and  Wheeler  and  his  men 
are  deserving  of  praise  for  all  time,  as  brave  soldiers 
who  acquitted  themselves  nobly  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances. 


114  CONCORD  m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Immediately  after  the  engagement  at  Brook  field, 
the  militia  of  Suffolk  and  Middlesex  were  ordered 
to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  at  a  min- 
ute's notice.  A  military  magazine  was  established 
in  Concord,  and  an  able  gunsmith  was  stationed  here 
in  October,  to  repair  arms  from  time  to  time  as 
might  be  required.    In  October  it  was  ordered  ^  that 

"  Whereas  iu  Concord  &  the  tounes  adjacent  there  is  a  neces- 
sity of  a  gunnsmith  to  be  resident  there,  for  the  fixing  vp  of 
armes,  from  tjme  to  tjme,  during  this  warr,  it  is  hereby  or- 
dered, that  Capt  Timothy  Wheeler  be  hereby  impowred  to  im- 
presse  an  able  gunsmith,  who  is  to  repaire  to  Concord,  who  shall 
carefully  and  diligently  attend  that  service." 

Everything  was  placed  on  a  war  footing,  and  the 
Council  even  passed  an  order  for  building  "  a  line  or 
fence  of  stockadoes  or  stones"  eight  feet  high,  to  ex- 
tend from  the  Charles  River  at  Watertown  to  a  point 
on  the  Concord  River  in  Billerica,  an  estimated  dis- 
tance of  twelve  miles.  As  many  ponds  as  possible 
were  to  be  included  in  the  line,  to  form  parts  of  this 
barrier,  which  was  designed  for  the  protection  of  the 
frontier  towns  against  a  marauding  enemy.  It  is  un- 
necessary to  say  that  this  foolish  scheme  was  never 
carried  into  effect;  but  the  fact  that  it  was  seriously 
entertained  and  once  actually  adopted  by  the  Council, 
is  a  convincing  proof  of  the  excited  state  of  men's 
minds. 

The  Christian  or  "Praying  "  Indians,  as  they  were 
called,  were  suspected,  probably  without  reason  as  to 

1  Mass.  Records,  v.  54. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  115 

most  of  them,  of  sharing  in  the  Brookfield  treachery, 
and  of  sympathy  with  Philip  in  his  general  plan. 
This  belief  and  the  excitement  caused  by  it  induced 
the  colonial  authorities  to  order  the  removal  of  the 
Indians  of  Ponkapog  and  Natick  to  Deer  Island  in 
Boston  Harbor.  For  want  of  a  sufficient  supply  of 
food  and  fuel  at  that  place  the  Indians  of  Nashoba, 
about  fifty-eight  all  told,  were  ordered  to  Concord  in 
November,  1675,  —  a  disposition  of  them  which 
caused  great  commotion  among  the  people,  for  the 
memory  of  Brookfield  was  still  fresh,  and  the  sight  of 
an  Indian  was  scarcely  endurable. 

General  Gookin,  Mr.  John  Eliot,  and  Ma.jor  Willard 
were  despatched  hither  by  the  General  Court,  to  see 
that  the  unwelcome  visitors  were  placed  under  such 
care  and  conduct  as  might  quiet  and  compose  the 
minds  of  the  English.  They  found  that  Mr.  John 
Hoar  was  the  only  man  in  town  who  was  willing  to 
take  charge  of  the  miserable  remnant. 

Unpopular  as  he  was,  and  bitterly  sensible  of  injus- 
tice suffered  at  the  hands  of  the  very  magistrates  who 
were  now  desirous  of  his  aid  in  seeking  to  extricate 
themselves  from  a  serious  dilemma,  he  nevertheless 
came  forward  in  a  truly  philanthropic  spirit  and  un- 
dertook the  care  of  the  Indians.  He  provided  for 
them  in  buildings  of  his  own,  and  began  the  erection 
of  a  new  workshop  near  his  dwelling-house,  where 
the  Indians  might  be  employed  by  day  and  secured 
at  night ;  and  other  measures  were  taken  to  promote 
their  comfort  and  safety. 


116  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

But  he  was  powerless  to  stem  the  tide  of  public 
sentiment.  On  the  first  day  of  February,  1676, 
the  Eames  family  were  massacred  at  Framingham ; 
eleven  days  later  came  the  attack  on  the  Shepards ; 
and  hostile  demonstrations  elsewhere  on  the  near 
frontier  filled  the  settlements  with  dismal  appre- 
hensions. 

These  events  crowding  one  upon  another  gave  rise 
among  the  Concord  people  to  feelings  of  strong  dislike 
of  the  Indians  living  in  the  town,  —  feelings  which, 
although,  at  this  distance  of  time,  we  are  compelled 
to  believe  them  unwarranted  by  the  facts,  and  pro- 
ductive of  wrong  in  their  manifestation,  cannot  be 
considered  inexplicable. 

Shortly  after  the  murder  of  Shepard,  some  of  the 
inhabitants  secretly  invited  Captain  Mosley  to  come 
with  his  company  and  remove  the  Indians  from  the 
town.  He  appeared  in  Concord,  one  Sunday,  in 
response  to  this  invitation,  with  a  detachment  of 
men,  and  marched  into  the  meeting-house,  where 
the  people  were  assembled  for  worship. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  exercises,  the  captain 
addressed  the  congregation,  saying  that  he  under- 
stood there  were  some  heathen  in  the  town  com- 
mitted to  one  Hoar,  who,  he  was  informed,  were  a 
trouble  and  disquiet  to  them  ;  and  therefore  if  the 
people  desired  it,  he  would  remove  the  Indians  to 
Boston.  No  one  made  any  objection,  and  there  were 
"  two  or  three  that  encouraged  him." 

The  meeting  broke  up,  and  Mosley,  followed  by 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  117 

his  men  and  a  large  number  of  the  townspeople, 
started  for  Hoar's  house,  "  which  stood  about  the 
midst  of  the  town,  and  very  nigh  the  town  watch- 
house."  ^  Arrived  there,  the  captain  counted  the 
Indians  and  left  a  corporal's  guard,  Hoar  vigorously 
protesting  against  all  his  proceedings  as  illegal  and 
unwarranted.  The  next  day  the  captain  came,  and, 
upon  Hoar's  refusal  to  recognize  his  authority,  broke 
in  the  door  and  carried  off  the  Indians  to  partake  of 
the  discomforts  of  Deer  Island.  These  events  oc- 
curred February  21,  1676. 

There  was  some  talk  made  by  the  magistrates  and 
deputies  about  this  affair,  but  the  fact  that  Mosley 
went  unrebuked  is  sufficient  evidence  that  his  action 
was  not  looked  upon  with  any  general  disfavor.^ 

It  appears  from  Gen.  Gookin's  report,  made  No- 
vember 10,  1676,  that  the  Nashoba  Indians,  about 
fifty  in  number,  had  then  returned  to  their  plantation 
and  were  living  there  quietly  and  unmolested.  In 
1684,  the  Nashoba  Plantation,  four  miles  square,  was 

1  Gookin.  In  1638,  the  town  was  fined  five  shillings  "  for  want  of 
a  paire  of  stocks  &  a  watchhouse;  "  and  the  following  year  a  like  fine 
was  imposed  "  for  not  giveing  in  a  transcript  of  their  lands,"  and  ten 
shillings  "for  neglecting  their  watch."  In  1641,  there  was  another 
fine  of  ten  shillings  "  for  neglecting  watch  &  not  appearance."  Mass. 
Records,  i.   267,  284,  317. 

Stocks  were  usually  placed  near  the  meeting-house,  and  in  some 
places  that  building  was  used  as  a  watch-house. 

2  For  additional  details,  see  Gookin's  History,  and  Hoar's  petition, 
both  printed  in  the  Transactions  and  Collections  of  the  American  An- 
tiquarian Society,  vol.  ii.  The  original  of  Hoar's  petition  is  among 
the  Shattuck  papers  in  the  library  of  the  New  England  Historic 
Genealogical  Society. 


118  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

said  to  be  "  inhabited  by  a  parcell  of  Indians,  but  for 
many  yeares  hath  been  deserted  all  dead  except 
some  few  y*  are  dispersed."  ^ 

In  the  return  made  to  Governor  Leverett,  June 
13,  1676,  by  Constable  John  Heywood,  we  have  an 
amusing  account  of  the  escape  of  three  Indian 
women  and  a  child  from  military  custody.^  The 
anxious  official  thus  deprecates  the  wrath  of  his 
superiors,  and  at  the  same  time  shows  the  uneasiness 
that  prevailed :  — 

Concord  this  13^^:  June  1676. 
Honord  Gouernor  Leuer* 

"  Inasmuch  as  heare  has  bin  a  sad  accident  befallen  us 
through  the  ocation  of  nedglegent  persons ;  which  had  trust 
Imposed  to  them ;  to  keep  sentery  over  three  old  squas  &  one 
papoose,  these  watchmen  fell  all  asleep,  and  in  the  meanetime 
y^  squas  made  theire  escape ;  from  them  ;  which  may  produce  a 
great  deale  of  damage  to  us  y*  are  resident  in  Concord  ;  because 
we  are  affraid  they  are  aquainted  with  ye  Condition  of  o^ 
towne,  &  what  quantyty  of  men  we  have  gon  out ;  &  which 
way  the}'  are  gone ;  which  may  prove  very  obstructive  to  o"^ 
army  in  their  design ;  we  had  a  Capt :  appoj'nted  over  the 
magaseine  ;  which  I  thought  to  be  sufBtient  to  give  a  Charge  to 
12  men ;  to  keep  senternalls  OA^er  three  old  squas ;  I  hope 
yo^  bono''  will  be  pleased  to  take  it  into  Consideration  & 
send  us  some  more  strength  to  suport  us  from  o^  enemies ;  for 
we  are  in  dayly  fear  ;  y*  they  will  make  an  asault  on  o""  towne  ; 
So  hopeing  yo'^  bono'  Cannot  Impute  an}-  Blame  to  him ;  who 
wish  to  yo"^  hono'^  y®  best  y*  may  be  ;  by  3^0''  hono'^^  most  Humble 
Servant 

John  Haywood  ; 

Consta"." 
1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  113,  p.  193.  »  Ibid.,  v.  30,  p.  203. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  119 

Two  days  after  the  receipt  of  this  petition,  Gen- 
eral Gookin  ordered  a  draft  of  twenty  men,  "  to 
march  up  to  Concord  for  the  security  of  the  [word 
garrison  erased]  magizen  there."  ^ 

^  Mass.  Archives,  v.  69,  p.  95. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"...  if  they  threw 
Dice  charged  with  fates  beyond  their  ken, 
Yet  to  their  instincts  they  were  true, 
And  had  the  genius  to  be  men." 

Lowell. 

"  The  rough  and  bearded  forester 
Is  better  tlian  the  lord." 

Emebson. 

The  Militia.  —  Education.  —  Charities.  —  Mining  and 
Manufactures.  —  Public  Houses.  —  Amusements.  —  Free- 
men. —  The  Andros  Revolution. 

Our  study  of  the  colonial  times  would  justly  be 
deemed  incomplete,  if  we  failed  to  touch  more  par- 
ticularly upon  the  military  side  of  colonial  life,  —  to 
give  a  glimpse,  at  least,  of  the  Puritan  as  a  soldier. 

In  1636,  Sergeant  Willard  was  appointed  "  to 
exercise  the  military  company  at  Concord,"  ^  and 
the  town  has  never  been  without  a  military  organiza- 
tion since  that  day. 

Every  man  of  military  age,  except  the  magistrates, 
ministers,  and  deacons,  was  required  to  be  furnished 
with  arms  and  ammunition,  to  appear  at  stated  times 
for  exercise  in  military  duties,  or  to  go  on  short 

1  Winthrop,  ii.  423.     Addenda. 


CONCORD  m  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  121 

expeditions,  for  service  in  the  outlying  garrisons  or 
scouting  from  town  to  town. 

Sometimes  persons  were  excused  from  military 
duty  by  reason  of  age,  or  other  infirmity;  but  it 
was  necessary  to  apply  to  the  County  Court  for 
the  privilege  of  exemption.  For  this  reason,  John 
Smedly  was  released  "  from  all  ordinary  trainings,"  ^ 
and  Sergeant  William  Buttrick  was  excused  "  from 
all  ordinary  trayneings,  watchings  &  wardings."  ^ 
But  William  Frizzell  was  exempted  on  condition  of 
his  "  paying  2s.  6d.  anno  to  the  use  of  the  military 
company  of  the  Towne  where  He  lives."  ^ 

A  regiment  had  but  one  field  officer,  who  was 
called  sergeant-major,  and  the  whole  force  was  under 
the  command  of  a  major-general.*  The  officers  of  a 
company  were  a  captain,  lieutenant,  ensign,  and  four 
sergeants.  The  commissioned  officers  carried  swords, 
partisans  or  leading  staves,  and  pistols;  and  they 
were  elected  by  the  members  of  the  company  and 
approved  by  the  General  Court.  The  sergeants  bore 
halberds.  The  common  soldiers  were  armed  with 
matchlock  or  firelock  muskets,  each  with  a  pair  of 
bandoleers  or  pouches  for  powder  and  bullets.  A 
forked  stick  was  carried,  to  be  used  as  a  rest  to  assist 
the  aim.^ 

1  County  Court  Records,  June  20,  1676. 

2  Ibid.,  June  19,  1683.  Buttrick's  petition,  not,  as  I  judge,  in  his 
hand-writing,  is  among  the  Shattuck  papers. 

8  County  Court  Records,  June  25,  1661. 
*  Hutchinson,  i.  396. 
6  Palfrey,  ii.  49,  50. 


122  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

The  officers  were  required  to  be  church  members, 
and  the  military  exercises  were  preceded  and  followed 
by  prayer  offered  by  the  officer  in  command.  The 
meetings  for  military  exercise  had  much  of  the  char- 
acter of  town  meetings,  for  it  appears  by  the  record 
that  a  very  important  matter  —  the  choice  of  a  com- 
mittee, in  1654,  to  make  division  of  the  highways  — 
was  voted  "  at  a  publique  training." 

"Willard  was  the  first  to  be  commissioned  captain  of 
the  foot  company,  or  train-band.  This  was  May  6, 
1646,  and  Timothy  Wheeler  was  at  the  same  time 
made  ensign.-^  For  fifteen  years  the  latter  held  the 
responsible  post  of  captain  ;  but  in  1677,  Peter  Bulke- 
ley,  Esquire,  then  in  England  as  agent  of  the  colony, 
was  appointed  captain,^  and  subsequently  became 
major. 

The   General  Court  ordered,  October  12,  1669,^ 

"  that  such  persons  living  in  the  frontier  tonnes  w*^  in  the  county 
of  Middlesex  as  are  legall}'  capacitated  to  l^'st  themselues  troop- 
ers shall  haue  liberty  to  doe  the  same,  vnder  Thomas  Wheeler, 
Senio',  of  Concord,  whom  this  Court  appoints  to  be  their  leif- 
tent,  &c." 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  second  troop  of 
horse  in  Middlesex,  "being  the  westerne  troope 
of  that  county."  Subsequently,  in  1671,  Wheeler 
was  made  captain,  Thomas  Hinchman  lieutenant,  and 
Henry  Woodis  quarter-master.*  Two  years  after- 
wards,   Woodis    was    made    cornet,    and    Corporal 

1  Mass.  Records,  ii.  146  ;  iii.  62,  63.  »  jftj^^.^  y.  151. 

8  Ibid.,  V.  pt.  ii.  439.  *  Ibid.,  p.  486. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  123 

William  Hartwell  was  appointed  quarter-master  in 
his  place.^ 

In  May,  1667,  the  General  Court  ordered,  that  in 
every  town  there  should  be  a  "  committee  of  the 
militia,"  and  that  fortifications  should  be  erected 
under  the  direction  of  the  committee  and  the  se- 
lectmen, for  the  protection  of  the  soldiers  and  inhab- 
itants.^ It  was  thought  to  be  necessary  and  proper, 
under  stress  of  the  public  emergency,  to  build  forts 
or  garrisons  on  any  man's  land,  without  other  leave 
or  license  than  what  might  be  inferred  from  the 
terms  of  the  general  order  referred  to.^ 

Like  other  towns  on  the  frontier.  Concord  was 
furnished  with  a  considerable  number  of  garrison- 
houses,  scattered  over  its  large  territory,  to  serve 
for  shelter  whenever  an  ahtrm  was  sounded.  A 
more  extensive  stronghold  at  the  centre  served  as  a 
rendezvous  for  the  soldiers,  who  were  ordered  to  as- 
semble here  to  guard  the  supplies  or  for  the  purjDOse 
of  preparing  for  operations  elsewhere.  Shattuck  re- 
ports* the  tradition  that  one  of  these  garrison-houses 
stood  where  Dr.  Barrett  lives,  another  near  Lewis 
Flint's,  a  third  near  Merriam's  Corner,  two  within  the 
present  limits  of  Bedford,  one  near  the  John  Hosmer 
place,  and  a  seventh  near  the  Pope  and  Lyman  farm 
in  Acton. 

The  following  documents  illustrate  the  methods 
employed  to  secure  a  quota  from  the  town  :  — 

1  Mass.  Records,  iv.  pt.  ii.  567.  2  /j;j.^  p.  330. 

3  Hutchinson,  ii.  67,  note.  •*  History,  p.  47. 


124  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

"  To  the  honor"^  Council  sitting  in  Boston  3^  10*}^  75. 

By  virtue  of  a  warrant  from  Maj""  Simon  Willard  directed  to 
the  Comittee  of  the  Militia  in  Concord  requiring  them  to  im- 
presse  eleven  able  souldiers  well  fited  &c :  for  the  service  of  the 
Country  in  the  present  expedition :  The  said  Comittee  have 
impressed  (&  accord :  to  order  of  the  hon'"'^  Council  doe  returne 
the  names  of)  these  persons ;  vijz :  Joseph  Busse,  Abraham 
Temple,  Samuel  How,  John  Wood,  Joseph  Wheeler,  Thomas 
Browne,  John  Wheeler,  Timothy  Rice,  George  Hayward,  Ste- 
phen Farre  &  John  Taylour,  who  are  at  present  (most  of  them 
&  the  rest  seasonably  will  bee)  fitted  well  with  armes :  But 
severall  of  them  doe  want  &  desire  to  be  supplyed  with  some 
cloathing  (coates  especially)  &  where  they  may  bee  accommo- 
dated with  them  they  would  understand.  3^  10t}»  75. 
Yo^  worships  humble  servant 

Tim  :  Wheeler  Capt. 

of  Concord. 
Postscript. 

Wee  having  severall  Troopers  also  impressed  in  this 
Towne,  &  there  being  a  Company  of  Indians  ordered  amongst 
us,  w'^^  wee  are  to  take  care  of:  Tis  humbly  desired,  that  favor 
may  bee  showne  us,  in  the  release  of  some  (if  it  may  bee)  of  the 
persons  abovementioned. 

Tim:  Wheeler." 
[Mass.  Archives,  v.  68,  p.  85.] 

' '  To  the  Hono  :  ^^^  Gov'" :  and  Councell  now  sitting  in  Boston 
June  28 :  1677 

The  Request  of  the  Millitia  of  the  towne  of  Concord 

Humbl}'  sheweth  that  the  millitia  of  the  said  towne  receiveing 
a  warrant  from  the  worp^'  Maj^  Gookin  to  impress  foure  men 
for  the  service  of  the  Countr}^ :  and  being  informed  that  those 
that  were  to  be  prest  were  intended  onely  to  scout  about  Chelmes- 
ford  ;  and  the  said  Millitia  not  being  able  to  obtaine  those 
persons  that  were  intended  and  desired  they  sent  foure  youths 
promiseing  to  releive  them  within  one  week  after  they  went  but 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  125 

so  soone  as  tliey  came  to  Chelmesford  tliey  were  conducted  to 
black  point  where  they  now  remaine. 

Our  humble  request  to  3-0^^  Hon^^^  therefore  is  :  that  you  will 
please  to  consider  how  unfitt  these  3'ouths  are  for  the  Countryes 
service :  namely  Samuell  Stratton  John  Wheat,  John  Ball : 
Thomas  Woolley : :  and  that  they  may  be  dismissed  from  the 
said  service :  and  be  returned  home  with  the  first  that  doe 
returne,  so  shall  we  ever  pray  for  y"^  Hon"  &c. 

Timothy  "Wheeler  Capt 
in  the  name  of  y®  Millitia." 
[Mass.  Archives,  v.  69,  p.  134.] 

The  high  esteem  in  which  miUtary  offices  and 
titles  were  held,  as  well  as  the  tenacity  with  which 
their  possessors  clung  to  them,  are  well  illustrated  in 
the  case  of  William  Buss.  About  a  year  after  the 
close  of  Philip's  War,  it  became  necessary  to  reor- 
ganize the  military  forces  of  the  town,  which  con- 
sisted of  a  train-band  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  besides  the  horse  company,  to  whose  ranks 
Concord  contributed  a  good  number  of  troopers. 
The  old  Indian  fighter,  Thomas  Wheeler,  was  dead, 
and  Thomas  Hinchman  was  made  captain  of  the 
troop,  with  John  Flint  for  lieutenant.^  Timothy 
Wheeler,  the  "  ancient  captain  "  of  the  foot  com- 
pany, was  infirm  with  age,  the  lieutenant  had  re- 
moved from  town,  and  consequently  the  burden  of 
military  affairs  fell  upon  William  Buss,  who  had  been 
ensign  for  nearly  twenty  years,  and  was  now  about 
sixty-five  years  of  age. 

1  Mass.  Records,  v.  142. 


126  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Peter  Bulkeley,  grandson 
of  the  Rev.  Peter,  to  the  honorable  and  responsible 
office  of  captain,  while  still  absent  from  the  country 
and  suspected  of  being  too  friendly  to  the  court 
party,  did  not  mend  matters.  The  citizens  under- 
took to  remove  Buss  by  electing  him  constable, 
hoping  thereby  to  force  him  to  relinquish  his  mili- 
tary position.  But  inter  arma  silent  leges.  The  old 
man  refused  to  qualify  for  the  civil  office  and  in- 
dignantly appealed  to  the  Council,  who  annulled  the 
action  of  the  town  and  subsequently  made  Buss  a 
lieutenant.  Following  is  his  petition  and  the  order 
thereon :  ^  — 

"  To  the  Hono^^^  Governor  &  Councill  now  sitting  in  Boston 
March  21^*  1677-8.  The  Petition  of  William  Buss  of  Concord. 
Humbly  sheweth  that  yo^  Petitio''  by  Vertue  of  an  order  from 
the  Gen'i  Court  hath  served  in  the  s*^  towne  of  Concord  as  an 
Ensigne  to  the  foot  Company  for  neare  the  Space  of  Twenty 
yeares :  And  the  Leift-  of  the  s?  Company  being  removed  out 
of  the  towne :  and  the  ancient  Cap*  of  the  s*^  Company  being 
weake  and  infirme :  and  the  Captaine  Lately  chosen  by  the 
Hono  :^^^  Gen^^  Court  being  in  England :  a  great  part  of  the 
Charge  of  the  Millitia  in  the  s^  towne  remaines  upon  yo'^  Pe- 
tition"^ :  and  he  being  now  neare  Sixty  five  yeares  old  :  is  much 
disabled  (considering  what  troubles  have  beene  upon  the  Country 
possibly  may  be  Renew^'^)  for  mannage  of  that  great  Concerne  : 
and  now  the  Inhabitants  of  the  said  towne  as  an  Addition  to  his 
Trouble  have  Chosen  yo""  Petitio'"  to  the  office  of  a  Constable  in 
the  s?  Towne.  and  (for  what  he  at  present  apprehends)  are  Re- 
solv'd  to  fibrce  him  to  serve  in  the  s^   place  and  office. 

Yo"^  Petitio^  therefore  humbly  Intreats  the  ffavor  of  your  hon- 
ors to  Consider  the  premises  :  and  to  pass  some  order  whereby 

1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  69,  p.  187. 


CONCORD  m  THE  COLOXIAL  PERIOD.  127 

he  may  bee  freed  from  the  office  and  service  of  a  Constable  in 
the  said  towne     So  shall  he  pray  for  yo^  Honors  &c 

William  Buss." 

Indorsements:  "At  a  Councell  held  at  Boston  March  21^* 
1677-8. 

In  answer  to  the  within  written  petition  of  William  Buss  the 
Councell  doo  hereby  order  (that  if  the  towne  of  Concord  have 
chosen'the  said  Buss  Constable  for  the  yeare  Ensuing)  that  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  said  towne  forthwith  meet  and  choose  another 
person  to  serve  in  the  said  office :  and  the  said  William  Buss  is 
hereby  declaired  free  from  the  said  office  of  Constable. 

by  order  of  the  Councell  John  Hayward." 

Major-General  Gookin  represented  to  the  General 
Court,  October  14, 1685,  that  the  Concord  train-band 
had  but  "  one  Commissioned  officer  that  officiates  in 
this  Company  —  viz  Left.  Buss  who  is  very  aged  ^ 
&  not  well  able  to  conduct  the  affaires  of  y®  great 
company,  therefore  having  informed  myselfe  as  the 
fittest  man  to  suply  the  place  of  an  ensigne  for  that 
company,  I  do  propound  to  the  court  Humphrey 
Barret,  who  is  a  ffreeman  &  of  y^  church  at  Con- 
cord, [illegible]  a  serjeant  of  that  company,  that 
the  court  will  make  him  Ensigne  of  Concord  foot 
company."     And  he  was  appointed  accordingly. 

The  return  of  Samuel  Jones,  "  Clerk  of  y^  bona," 
made  July  2,  1689,  states  that  "  the  souldiers  of  Con- 
cord "  met  together,  and  "  by  a  clear  voat "  nominated 
James  Minott,  captain,  Simon  Davis,  lieutenant,  and 
Humphrey  Barrett,  ensign.     The  election  of  these 

1  He  was  about  seventy-three  years  of  age. 


128  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

officers  was  confirmed  and  appointments  were  made 
accordingly.^     But  in  November  following  it  was 

*'  Ordered  by  the  Representatives  That  the  foot  Company  of 
Concord  being  of  the  number  of  on  hundred  &  thre  score  men  & 
upward  ;  be  devided  into  two  Company^  and  that  tlie  East  quarf 
of  the  town  together  w*^  that  part  of  the  south  quarf^  southward 
fi'om  that  street  commonly  called  Scotchford  Lane  be  of  on  Com- 
pany &  the  North  quarf  of  the  Town  &  the  Remaining  pt  of  the 
South  quart'  westward  of  sd  Scotchford  Lane  be  another  Com- 
pany. 

Nov  r"^  6*^  :  1689.  Ebenezer  Prout    Clerk."  ^ 

As  regards  education,  it  was  true,  of  necessity,  that 
throughout  the  period  of  which  we  are  treating, 
there  was  little  reading  of  books ;  but  every  family 
possessed  and  read  the  Bible,  and  in  some  houses 
might  have  been  found  Fox's  Book  of  Martyrs,  and  a 
few  books  of  sermons,  or  commentaries,  or  controver- 
sial tracts.  Rev.  Peter  Bulkeley  had  a  very  consider- 
able library  for  those  times,  a  portion  of  which  he  be- 
queathed to  Harvard  College.  From  the  instructions 
received  by  the  selectmen  in  the  year  1672,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  nucleus  already  existed  of  a  town 
library.  It  was  enjoined  upon  those  officers  "  that 
ceare  be  taken  of  the  bookes  of  marters  &  other 
bookes,  that  belong  to  the  Towne,  that  they  may  be 
kept  from  abeuce  [ive]  vesage,  &  not  to  be  lent  to  a 
any  person  more  then  one  month  at  one  time." 

It  is  said,^  that  there  was  a  grammar  school  In 
Concord  before  1680 ;  but,  in  the  earlier  years  of  the 

1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  107,  p.  166.  2  ^jjj.^  y.  35,  p.  70. 

8  Shattuck,  p.  220. 


CONCOED  IN   THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  129 

settlement,  there  could  have  been  no  regular  instruc- 
tion of  the  youth,  except  what  was  supplied  by  the 
minister  and  by  parents ;  and  it  is  not  likely  that 
there  was  any  school-house,  or  building  specially 
devoted  to  school  purposes,  at  any  time  preceding 
the  gift  of  Captain  Timothy  Wheeler,  in  1687.  Even 
at  a  much  later  date,  schools  in  the  outlying  districts 
were  kept  in  the  house  where  the  master  boarded, 
and  when  he  changed  his  quarters,  the  school  also 
moved  with  him. 

Negative  evidence  to  the  same  point  is  furnished 
by  the  report  of  John  Smedly  and  Thomas  Dakin,  in 
1680,  that  "  as  for  schools  we  have  in  every  quarter 
of  our  town  men  and  women  that  teach  to  read  and 
write  English  when  parents  can  spare  their  children 
and  others  to  go  to  them."-^     In  the  spring  of  1665, 
the  town  was  complained  of,  for  "  not  having  a  lattin  | 
Schoole  M"" ; "  ^  and  for  the  next  four  or  five  years  | 
it  was  necessary,  from  time  to  time,  to  remind  the ! 
inhabitants  of  their  want  of  a  school-master,  and  their  ■' 
supposed  inattention  to  the  catechizing  of  youth. 

Our  forefathers  were  no  less  mindful  of  the  ad- 
vantages of  book  learning  than  the  rest  of  the 
inland  population.  They  saw  stretching  out  before 
them  a  life  of  severe  labor,  either  in  tilling  the 
soil  or  plying  a  handicraft.  Learned  professions,  — 
except  the  clerical,  which  was  already  well  filled, 
—  offered  no  allurements.     Operations  of  trade,  or 

1  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register,  v.  5,  p.  173. 

2  County  Court  Files. 


130  CONCORD  m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

marketing  the  products  of  the  soil,  consisted  in  most 
cases  of  simple  barter.  There  was,  in  general,  no 
taste  or  desire  for  what  we  should  call  literature,  — 
luckily,  for  there  was  nothing  accessible  with  which 
to  satisfy  the  craving.  The  great  value  of  the  Bible, 
considered  from  a  literary  point  of  view,  was  not 
much  dwelt  upon,  because  of  the  greater  importance 
attached  to  it  as  a  collection  of  authoritative  pre- 
cepts, which,  rightly  expounded,  contained  all  that 
was  necessary  for  human  beings  to  know. 

Considerations  of  this  kind  enable  us  more  readily 
to  understand  how  an  ordinary  man  or  woman  in 
those  days  might  have  been  content  with  the  dis- 
courses of  Sunday  and  lecture-day,  without  taking 
the  trouble  to  do  much  readino;   at  home. 

As  has  been  already  observed,  the  business  of  buy- 
ing and  selling,  as  ordinarily  carried  on,  called  for 
no  complicated  mathematical  knowledge,  or  for  the 
keeping  of  elaborate  accounts.  Therefore,  the  art  of 
writing,  now  universally  taught  and  practised,  easily 
fell  into  disuse,  and  became  an  accomplishment  for 
the  few,  at  a  time  when  all  paper  was  imported  from 
England  and  letters  were  not  expected,  or,  when 
written,  were  carried  by  a  private  messenger  at 
considerable  expense. 

In  1653,  the  town  subscribed  <£5  a  year  for  seven 
years,  in  aid  of  Harvard  College,  and  about  1672, 
the  sum  of  £45  was  subscribed  towards  building 
Harvard  Hall.^ 

1  Mass.  Archives,  v.  58,  p.  93. 


CONCORD  m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  131 

In  1687,  the  cause  of  education  in  Concord  re- 
ceived encouragement  and  support  from  the  pubhc 
bequests  of  Captain  Timothy  Wheeler,  who  died 
July  10th,  of  that  year.  His  will  contained  the  fol- 
lowing clause,  by  which  he  sought  to  promote  educa- 
tion in  the  town,  and  to  enlarge  the  training-place, 
as  well :  — 

"  I  Give  to  the  Towne  of  Concord  my  house  that  stands 
near  Eliaz.  Fleggs  house  with  the  Land  that  itt  stands  upon 
and  is  jo3ned  to  itt ;  w*'^  is  about  Three  acres ;  be  itt  more  or 
Lesse  bounded  by  the  Highway  on  the  North  East  by  my  Land 
(viz*)  the  Gutter  and  Eliazer  Fleggs  Land  on  the  North  West 
&  South  This  I  say  I  Give  to  the  said  Towne  to  be  Improved 
as  followeth  (viz*)  ;  Tliat  about  halfe  an  acre  of  the  said  Lott 
be  Laid  out  to  the  training  place  the  fence  to  Run  from  the 
Corner  of  the  House  to  the  brow  of  the  Hill  upon  a  straight 
Lyne  ;  the  Dwelling  house  with  the  rest  of  the  Land  w*^^  all  that 
is  upon  itt  I  give  to  be  Improved  for  the  furtherance  of  Learn- 
ing and  the  Support  of  a  Schoole  in  the  said  Towne."  ^ 

By  the  same  instrument  he  devised  to  the  town 
the  Ministerial  wood-lot,  of  about  forty  acres,  situated 
between  the  Turnpike  and  the  Walden  road,  "to  be 
from  time  to  time  Improved  for  the  use  and  benefitt 
of  the  Ministry  of  the  said  Towne." 

An  indenture^  entered  into,  in  the  year  1688,  by 

1  Suffolk  Probate  Records,  v.  10.  p.  103.  The  dwelling-house  re- 
ferred to  in  the  above  extract  was  not  the  Bulkeley  house,  which, 
together  with  the  mill,  Captain  Wheeler  expressly  devised  to  his  daugh- 
ter Rebecca,  wife  of  James  Minott. 

Of  the  school-house  lot,  portions  were  sold  from  time  to  time,  until 
two  and  one-half  acres  had  shrunk  to  a  lot  barely  large  enough  to 
sustain  the  building,  which  is  now  owned  by  the  Misses  Ball  and  is 
devoted  to  the  use  of  the  Masonic  Order. 

2  Mass.  Archives,  v.  129,  p.  130. 


132  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

the  overseers  of  the  poor,  of  Boston,  with  Ebenezer 
Prout,  of  Concord,  affords  evidence  of  what  every 
young  woman  was  exjDected  to  know.  The  subject 
of  the  agreement,  described  as  "  a  poor  Child  of  the 
age  of  Nine  years,"  was  bound  to  serve  as  an  appren- 
tice until  she  became  twenty-one  years  of  age  or  was 
married.  Prout  agreed,  on  his  part,  that  she  should 
"  be  taught  perfectly  to  read  English,  Sew,  Spin,  and 
Knit  as  she  shall  be  capable  ;  "  that  he  would  supply 
her  with  "  wholesome  sufficient  meat,  drink.  Apparel, 
washing,  &  Lodging ; "  and  at  the  end  of  the  term, 
dismiss  her  "  with  two  new  Suits  of  Apparel  through- 
out, one  for  Lord's  days,  the  other  for  working  days." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  she  was  to  be  taught  to  read, 
but  nothing  is  said  about  writing.  Of  the  first 
planters,  nearly  all  the  men,  and  some  of  the  women, 
could  write,  but  their  sons  and  grandsons  not  infre- 
quently signed  by  making  a  mark ;  and  during  the 
first  three  generations  it  was  an  unusual  accomplish- 
ment in  a  woman  to  be  able  to  write  her  name. 

As  has  been  already  intimated,  we  should  not  judge 
of  their  deficiencies,  in  this  or  in  other  respects,  ac- 
cording to  the  standards  of  our  day,  any  more  than 
it  would  be  reasonable  for  us  to  gauge  their  intellec- 
tual powers  and  attainments  by  the  irregular  habits 
of  spelling  that  prevailed.  There  was  no  English 
dictionary  ^  to  create  or  authoritatively  recognize  a 

1  Bailey's  English  Dictionary,  published  in  1728,  was  the  first  at- 
tempt to  give  a  full  collection  of  the  words  of  the  language.  It  was  for 
a  long  time  the  only  dictionary  in  use  among  English  speaking  people, 
but  was  superseded  by  Dr.  Johnson's  great  work,  published  in  1755. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  133 

standard  orthography,  and  even  among  scholars,  uni- 
formity in  spelling  was  not  then  deemed  the  virtue 
that  it  now  is. 

In  short,  under  all  the  circumstances,  it  is  no  cause 
for  wonder,  that  for  a  time  the  practical  advantages 
of  learning  were  so  slight,  to  men  of  ordinary  stations 
in  life,  that  interest  in  the  education  of  the  young 
languished  and  seemed  almost  dead.  All  New 
England  was  for  a  while  overshadowed  by  ignorance 
and  credulous  superstition,  which,  probably,  in  Con- 
cord assumed  their  mildest  forms.  At  all  events, 
we  may  be  thankful  that,  when  the  clouds  rolled 
away,  and  the  human  mind  reasserted  itself  in  a  de- 
mand for  knowledge,  no  blind  delusion  had  left  a 
permanent  blot  on  the  town's  escutcheon. 

Since  Concord  has  sometimes  been  called  the  para- 
dise of  poor  people,  the  early  charities  of  the  town 
are  entitled  to  some  notice  at  our  hands. 

William  Halsted,  dying  in  the  year  1645,  be- 
queathed 

' '  Unto  the  poore  of  the  towne  of  Concord  fy ve  pound  to  be 
layd  out  in  a  Cow,  w^^  I  would  have  So  ordered  b}^  the  Deacons 
&  my  executors  that  it  may  be  a  continual  help  to  such  as  are 
in  need  God  giveing  a  blessing  thereunto."  ^ 

That  the  testator's  wishes  were  faithfully  complied 
with,  appears  from  the  following  extracts  from  the 
records.     The  first  is  dated  July  13,  1698. 

The  Selectmen  being  enformed  of  y®  great  pi'sent  want  of 
Thomas  PelUt  they  gave  order  unto  Stephen  Hosmer  to  deliver 

1  Suffolk  Probate  Records,  i.  36. 


134  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

a  Town  Cow  unto  sd  pellit  for  his  present  supplj^  who  accord- 
ingly delivered  a  cow  upon  y^  account  afors"!  unto  him  sd  pellit 
which  cow  is  of  a  black  couler,  a  white  face  with  black  spotts 
Eound  each  eye,  &  sd  cow  is  to  continue  w*^  sd  pellit  so  long  as 
s*^  selectmen  Judge  necessary." 

Again,  in  1711,  the  selectmen  ordered  Daniel  Ross 

"  to  drive  y^  Town  Cow  (which  was  with  s'^  Ross)  to  Heze- 
kiah  ffletcher  there  to  be  wintered  out  att  the  Town^  charge 
which  accordingly  was  done."  ^ 

When  the  second  divisions  were  settled,  in  1654, 

it  was  agreed 

"  that  all  poore  men  in  the  Towne  that  have  not  Comones  to 
the  numbar  of  foure  shall  be  alloued  so  many  as  amounts  to  foure, 
with  what  they  have  all  Redy ;  shall  have  till  they  be  able  to 
purchis  for  themselues  ;  or  untell  the  Townesmen  shall  see  Case 
to  take  it  from  them  ;  and  bestow  it  on  others  that  want ;  And 
we  mene  those  poore  men ;  that  at  the  qpsent  are  householdres." 

The  will  of  Robert  Meriam,  who  died  in  1682,  con- 
tains the  following  clause  : 

"  I  give  to  the  poor  of  the  Town  of  Concord  four  pounds  in 
Corne." 

The  early  settlers  of  America  were  quick  to  be- 
lieve stories  of  niarvellous  productions  and  discoveries. 
Belief  in  the  existence  of  mines  of  gold,  silver,  and 
other  minerals,  was  ever  present  to  them,  and  acted 
as  a  lively  incentive  to  new  efforts.  In  other  quarters, 
expeditions  were  planned  and  conducted  by  old  men 
in  search  of  the  fountain  of  youth,  and  in  the  ex- 
tract from  Johnson  already  quoted,^  we  are  informed 

1  See  agreement  with  John  Cotton,  Ante,  p.  26.        ^  J_nte,  p.  4. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  135 

that  even  the  pioneer  famihes  of  Concord  were 
cheered,  on  their  journey  from  "Watertown,  "with 
hopes  of  a  new  and  strange  discovery,  expecting 
every  houre  to  see  some  rare  sight  never  seen 
before." 

In  many  respects,  as  we  have  already  perceived, 
their  hopes  were  to  be  disappointed.  It  remains  for 
us  to  explore  the  attempts  that  were  made  to  dis- 
cover valuable  minerals  within  the  bounds  of  Concord. 

The  legislative  body,  by  a  vote  passed  October  14, 

1657,  granted  to  the  inhabitants  of  Concord 

"  liberty  to  erect  one  or  more  iron  workes  w^^^in  the  Ijmits  of 
theire  oune  toune  bounds,  or  in  any  coinon  place  neere  there- 
vnto."  1 

Operations  were  begun  under  this  authority,  but 
it  appears  that  the  franchise  was  not  deemed  liberal 
enough,  for,  in  1660,  the  Court  made  the  following 
order :  — 

"  In  answer  to  the  petition  of  the  company  in  partnership  in 
the  iron- works  at  Concord,  the  Court  judge th  it  not  meete  to 
grauut  theire  request,  i.  e.,  liberty  to  digg  mine  in  any  mans 
propriety  without  theire  consent ;  yett  being  willing  to  encourage 
the  petitioners  in  so  good  a  worke,  doe  graunt  them  free  liberty 
to  digg  mine  without  molestation  in  an}^  lands  now  in  the  Courts 
possession."  ^ 

A  company  was  formed,  works  were  erected  at 
"Westvale,  where  the  mill  of  the  Damon  Manufactur- 
ing Company  now  stands ;  and  in  a  few  years  the 
proprietors  owned  more  than  four  hundred  acres 
within  the  old  bounds  of  Concord,  and  about  twelve 
*  Mass.  Records,  iv.  pt.  i.  311.  2  JUd.^  iy.  pt.  i,  429. 


136  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

hundred  acres,  bought,  for  the  most  part,  of  Major 
Willard,  and  lying  principally  in  the  town's  New 
Grant,  but  partially  in  Sudbury.-^ 

The  bog  ore  discovered  in  this  territory,  specimens 
of  which  may  still  be  found,  was  ascertained  to  be 
inferior  in  quality,  and  not  sufficiently  remunerative 
to  the  adventurers.  Joseph  Jenckes  was  prominent 
in  carrying  on  the  works,  the  unprofitable  character 
of  which  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that,  in  the 
year  1668,  Joseph  Wormwood,  brother-in-law  of 
Jenckes,  and  employed  by  him  at  the  iron  works, 
received  formal  notice  from  the  selectmen  that  he 
was  not  considered  a  desirable  inhabitant  for  the 
town,  and  was  requested  to  depart.  This  proceeding 
was  strictly  according  to  the  statute  and  custom,  and 
was  resorted  to,  in  order  to  prevent  the  person  so 
warned  from  becoming  a  charge  to  the  town.  The 
reasons  assigned  for  giving  the  notice  in  Wormwood's 
case  were,  that  he  had  no  property  in  town,  and  that 
the  prospect  for  the  business  in  which  he  was  en- 
gaged was  not  considered  good.^ 

Peter  Bulkeley,  Esquire,  owned  an  interest  in  the 
works,  at  his  decease,  but  in  1701  James  Russell,  of 
Charlestown,  who  appears  to  have  become  the  sole 
owner  of  the  property,  is  found  conveying  parcels  to 
Samuel  Wright,  John  Barker,  Jr.,  Samuel  Jones, 
Ephraim  Jones,  and  Jonathan  Knight.^ 

1  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  9,  f.  70. 

2  County  Court  Files. 

8  Middlesex  Deeds,  L.  12,  f.  599,  634;  L.  13,  f.  43. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  137 

A  deposition  which  was  taken  April  9,  1697,  and 
is  preserved  in  the  manuscript  archives  of  the  State/ 
informs  us  that  one  Augustus  Leihtenegger  "  did  at- 
tend the  work  of  a  mine  or  mineral!  at  a  place  called 
fair  haven  within  the  Limitts  of  the  Towne  of 
Concord,"  for  the  term  of  six  months,  under  a  con- 
tract entered  into  with  Herman  and  Hezekiah  Usher, 
merchants,  of  Boston  ;  and  that  he  "  did  in  the  winter 
last  past  build  a  bridge  at  his  own  charge  to  facilitate 
his  passage  too  and  from  Said  worke."  A  house 
built  for  the  accommodation  of  the  Avorkmen  was 
called  "  the  Mine  house,"  and  the  scene  of  the  exca- 
vations is  still  known  by  the  name  of  Mine  Hill.  It 
is  situated  on  the  farm  of  George  H.  "Wright,  near 
the  bridge  at  Nine-Acre  Corner,  where  copper  ore  is 
now  found  in  the  deep  excavation  made  almost  two 
hundred  years  ago,  in  the  vain  hope,  which  was 
cherished  by  so  many  of  the  first  planters  of  New 
England,  that  the  earth  would  be  found  to  compen- 
sate for  its  lack  of  fertility  by  disclosing  mineral 
wealth. 

The  road  to  Shawshine  Corner  ran  across  a  brook 
called  Tar-kiln  Brook,  a  name  not  uncommon  in  the 
old  towns,  and  arising  from  the  practice  of  tapping 
the  large  pine  trees  to  obtain  the  material  from 
which  turpentine  and  tar  were  manufactured. 

In  estimating  the  resources  of  the  town,  in  colo- 
nial times,  it  should  be  noted  that  there  was  little 
need   to   go   elsewhere    for  manufactured    articles. 

1  Volume  88,  p.  147. 


138  CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Cloth  for  garments  was  made  at  home  from  the 
wool  of  sheep  that  browsed  on  Concord  hills.  The 
operations  of  tanning  and  currying  hides,  and  mak- 
ing the  leather  into  boots  and  shoes,  were  all  carried 
on  within  a  radius  of  a  few  rods.  Carpenters  built 
houses  and  barns,  and  made  chairs,  tables,  trenchers, 
spoons,  and  various  other  kinds  of  wooden  ware. 
Blacksmiths  fashioned  nails,  hooks,  hinges,  latches, 
and  bolts,  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  build- 
ings. Smoking  kilns  supplied  lime  and  bricks,  and 
three  or  four  saw-mills  in  various  parts  of  the  town 
were  busily  clearing  the  land  of  the  forest  growth, 
and  thus  supplying  a  large  quantity  of  lumber  for  an 
ever  increasing  variety  of  uses. 

Upon  complaint  made  in  the  year  1660,  for  want 
of  a  public  house,  a  license  was  obtained  in  October, 
for  Sergeant  William  Buss,  to  keep  a  house  of  com- 
mon entertainment^  at  a  place  on,  or  very  near 
to,  the  site  of  the  hotel  kept  in  modern  times  by 
Joseph  Holbrook. 

The  application  was  indorsed  by  the  selectmen  as 
follows  ^ :  — 

"  To  the  honored  Co^t  meeting  at  Cambridge  OctoV  2'^  1660. 

Tlie  honored  Co^'t  may  bee  pleased  hereby  to  understand  that 
wee,  tlie  Selectmen  of  this  Towne  of  Concord  whose  names  are 
here  under  written  have  beene  solicitous  to  Indeavor  the  settling 
of  an  ordinary-keeper  in  our  towne,  and  have  found  much  diffi- 
culty in  securing  such  an  one  as  wee  could  rest  well  satisfyed 
in  for  such  a  place.  Butt  having  p'^ vailed  w*'^  the  Bearer  hereof 
Serjeant  Busse  to  keepe  it  for  this  yeare  past,  wee  have  also 

1  County  Court  Records.  *  Ibid. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  139 

p^'curecl  him  to  keepe  it  for  a  yeare  longer ;  only  hee  desireth  to 
bee  free  from  any  engagement  to  sell  wine  &  strong  waters. 
Oct:  1:  1660. 

Robert  Meriam 
Robert  ffletcher 
George  Wheeler 
James  hosmer 

Wt»^  the  Consent  of  the  Rest." 

It  seems  that  honest  Buss  did  not  lose  his  repug- 
nance to  the  business  of  Hquor  selHng,  for  in  1664, 
when  the  selectmen  requested  a  renewal  of  his 
license,  they  desired  that  it  might  be  limited  to 
keeping  "a  house  of  comon  entertainment;"  and, 
as  he  was  not  "  willing  to  keepe  wine  and  Liquors," 
they  asked  that  Robert  Meriam  might  have  a  license 
"to  retale  wine  and  Liquors  for  the  nessesary  use 
of  the  towne  and  travilers."  The  court  granted  a 
general  license  to  Buss  to  keep  a  public  house,  but 
does  not  appear  to  have  acted  upon  the  request  to 
license  Meriam.^  It  may  or  may  not  be  encourag- 
ing, to  learn  that  the  practical  treatment  of  the 
liquor  question  at  that  day  involved  many  of  the 
same  difficulties  with  which  later  generations  have 
become  familiar. 

In  1670,  the  selectmen  requested  that  John  Hey- 
wood  might  be  allowed  "  to  keep  a  house  of  enter 
tainment  for  strangers  for  nights  loging,  beer,  and 
sider,"  also  that  Robert  Meriam  might  be  impow- 
ered  "  to  sell  wine  &  strons-water  to  those  that  are 
sick  or  weeke  &  stand  in  need  of  our  owne  towne, 

1  County  Court  Files. 


140  CONCORD  m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

&  strangers  that  want."  The  same  year  Michael 
Wood,  "  clerk  of  the  Iron-works,"  was  licensed  to 
sell  strong  liquors  to  the  laborers  connected  with  the 
works/ 

Two  years  afterwards,  "John  Haywood  ordnary 
keeper  at  Concord  renewed  his  license,"  and  had 
liberty  granted  him  "  to  retaile  strong  waters  to 
travellers  &  sicke  persons,''  upon  giving  a  bond.^  He 
lived  on  the  lot  that  was  occupied,  until  recently,  by 
the  Bigelow  Tavern,  and  we  first  learn  of  him  as 
keeper  of  a  pubUc  house,  in  the  year  1666. 

In  attempting  to  enumerate  the  amusements  of 
the  people  of  Concord,  in  colonial  times,  one  is  not 
embarrassed  by  wealth  of  materials.  It  was  not 
merely  that  anything  humorous  lacked  encourage- 
ment, it  was  actively  frowned  upon.  A  profound 
impression  is  produced  upon  the  student  who,  after 
searching  in  vain  for  evidence  that  the  colonists  some- 
times saw  the  ludicrous  side  of  things,  is  compelled 
to  recognize  the  almost  entire  absence  of  humor, 
that  characterizes  the  records,  writings,  and  books 
of  the  period. 

Cotton  Mather,  indeed,  perpetrates  execrable  puns, 
that  provoke  merriment  by  their  very  poverty  of  wit; 
but  it  is  generally  true  that  whatever  amuses  us  in 
the  annals  of  these  times,  does  so,  wholly,  because 
of  our  altered  point  of  view,  and  the  marked  differ- 
ence of  our  surroundino;s.  We  are  led  to  the  belief 
that  the  actors  in  the  scenes  depicted  on  the  records 

1  County  Court  Files.  ^  Ibid. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  141 

looked  upon  life  as  a  very  serious  and  sad  affliir ; 
but  not  the  less  did  they  exert  themselves  to  do 
their  duty  according  to  the  light  afforded  them,  with 
a  martyr-like  fortitude,  the  effect  of  which  is  en- 
hanced by  the  dreary  back-ground. 

Theological  and  doctrinal  discussions  had  great 
charms  for  our  ancestors,  and  the  Bible  afforded 
endless  themes  for  conversation.  The  ordinaries 
slowly  grew  into  favor  as  places  of  resort  for  the 
less  sober  members  of  the  community,  who  there 
stimulated  their  faculties  with  wine  or  strong  water 
(this  was  before  the  day  of  New-England  rum),  and 
indulged  in  a  style  and  subjects  of  conversation  some- 
what less  strict  than  were  allowed  elsewhere.  The 
writer  has  found  no  indication  of  the  prevalence 
of  any  kind  of  games  or  sports  in  Concord,  but  an 
apprentice  in  one  of  the  adjoining  towns  was  com- 
plained of  by  his  master,  in  1666,  for  "playing  att 
nine  pins  &  cudgells"  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor, 
during  one  entire  day,  and  until  nine  o'clock  at 
night. 

There  were,  no  doubt,  pleasant  gatherings  about 
the  spacious  fire-places,  when  neighbors  talked  to- 
gether of  the  crops  and  the  cattle,  and  the  last  story 
about  the  Indians  was  told  with  bated  breath.  There 
is  ample  evidence  that  the  men,  both  young  and  old, 
were  not  insensible  to  the  gentle  influence  of  the 
other  sex ;  for  marriages  were  entered  into  early  in 
life,  families  were  large,  and  second  and  third  mar- 
riages were  not  uncommon.     An  unmarried  man  of 


142  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

a  certain  age  was  regarded  with  suspicion,  and  in 

1670,  Thomas  Tally,   who  had  lived  four  years  in 

Concord,  was  summoned  to  court  "  to  answer  for  his 

long  absence  from  his  wife."  ^     Being  presented  in 

due  form  for  this  offence  by  the   Grand  Jury,  he 

submitted  the  following  petition  :  — 

"  The  Humble  petition  of  Thomas  Tally 
Humbly  sheweth  That  the  sayd  Tally  did  intend  to  have  gone 
for  England  to  his  wife  the  last  fall  but  that  a  neighbour  of 
Concord  went  for  England  and  into  the  same  parts  where  she 
liveth,  by  whome,  the  sayd  Tally  sent  to  and  for  his  wife  and 
expects  a  returne  by  the  same  person  :  and  if  he  have  no  answer, 
this  returne  of  the  ships  he  doth  intend  to  go  for  England  at  the 
fall  if  not  before  and  if  the  honoured  Court  shall  please  beare 
with  him  till  that  time  yo^"  petitioner  will  be  farther  engaged  to 
pray  &c. 

Thomas  Tally." 

The  magistrates  were  unmoved  by  his  entreaties, 
and  although  poor  Tally  begged  to  the  last  that  he 
might  be  allowed  more  time  in  which  to  collect  the 
money  that  was  due  him,  and  for  further  opportunity 
to  hear  from  his  wife,  the  decree  went  forth  that 
banished  him  from  the  jurisdiction. 

Viewed  from  this  distance,  the  betrothals  and 
marriages  wear  a  sombre  and  business-like  look. 
Both  law  and  public  sentiment  regarded  marriage 
as  a  civil  contract  and  nothing  more.  The  ceremony 
was  not  performed  by  ministers,  but  by  lay  magis- 
trates, or  persons  specially  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned for  that  purpose  by  the  General  Court,  on  the 
petition  of  the  Selectmen.^ 

1  County  Court  Files.  ^  ggg  Mass.  Archives,  v.  35,  p.  30i. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  143 

An  account  of  a  marriage  contract  is  preserved 
among  the  Middlesex  Deeds.^  Peter  Wright,  who 
was  one  of  the  parties  chiefly  interested,  was  a 
weaver,  and  died  January  15,  1718,  aged  fifty-three; 
therefore,  at  the  time  of  making  the  following  agree- 
ment, he  was  eighteen  years  of  age.  He  devised 
property  to  the  town,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  the 
fund  for  the  Silent  Poor. 

"Wee  whose  names  are  underwritten  do  testify  that  wee 
being  at  Edward  Wright's  house  at  Concord  in  New  England 
December  31  1683  the  s^  Edward  Wright  Sen"^  &  Widdow 
Lambson  of  the  same  Towne  did  both  of  them  before  us  give 
free  consent  tliat  Peter  Wright  son  of  the  s^^  Edward  Wright  & 
Elizabeth  Lambson  might  joj'ne  themselves  in  marriage  when 
they  pleased  observing  the  Orders  here  established  for  that  end. 
And  at  the  same  time  Edward  Wright  did  give  unto  his  son 
Peter  for  his  portion  before  us  All  his  land  &  meadow  on  the 
Easterl}'  side  the  Brooke,^  bounded  with  the  Brook,  North  River, 
Widdow  Lambson's  land  &  John  Smedlys  land  only  reserving 
to  himself  &  his  other  two  sons  free  liberty  to  make  use  of  the 
Timber  Brush  &  Gravell  upon  that  land  &  the  use  of  one  halfe 
the  meadow  till  Edward  Wright  Jun'^  &  Samuel  Wright  should 
flow  theyr  meadow  &  the  s^^  Peter  to  joyne  with  them  according 
to  his  meadow  and  Widdow  Lambson  at  the  same  time  before 
us  did  engage  to  make  her  daughter  Elizabeths  portion  worth 
ten  pounds  upon  her  marriage-day  with  Peter  Wright  afores"^. 
What  is  above  written  was  in  the  presence  &  approved  by 
Edward  Wright  Sen''  &  his  wife,  Widdow  Lambson  &  all 
Edward  Wrights  Sen^^^  Sons,  and  Robert  Blood  for  to  stand 
good  for  the  fulfilling  of  what  is  abovewritten  in  all  respects, 
Peter  Wright  paying  to  his  sister  Sarah  ten  pounds  when  she 

1  L.  9,  f.  78. 

2  Land  now  owned  by  the  Commonwealth,  in  the  west  part  of  the 
town. 


144  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

comes  to  age  in  common  pay  as  it  shall  then  go  between  man  & 
man  here  in  Concord.  Edward  Wright  also  engaged  to  make 
his  son  Peters  portion  worth  thirty  pounds  upon  his  marriage 

day. 

JoHX  Smedly  Senr 
James  Smedly  " 

Sworn  to  "18:4:1684." 

"We  know  that  the  grim  surroundings  did  not  alto- 
gether quench  the  frolicsome  spirits  of  children, 
although,  unfortunately,  the  evidence  comes  to  us 
from  the  court  records.  There,  clothed  in  the  quaint 
idioms  that  prevailed  at  the  time,  is  an  account  of  a 
practical  joke  played  upon  a  worthy  family,  wdio  lived 
nearly  opposite  to  the  meeting-house,  and,  for  the 
promotion  of  other  people's  fun,  were  compelled  to 
forego  their  Sunday  dinner.     It  was  in  1678.^ 

"Thomas  Pellet  &  Mar}"  his  wife  appearing  in  court  do  upon 
their  oaths  say  &  attest,  that  the  last  Sabbath  day  was  a  fort- 
night, some  young  persons  being  at  their  house  at  noon  time 
when  the  Sacrament  was  administering  their  pot  being  boiling 
over  their  fire,  when  they  came  to  take  of  the  same,  they  found 
it  much  abused,  &  that  tobacco  smaller  &  greater  pieces  they 
found  therein,  whereby  the  provisions  therein  was  made  unfit 
to  be  eaten,  &  that  some  of  their  children  tasting  of  some  little 
thereof,  became  sick  &  vomited.  Also  they  both  add  that  when 
they  came  to  take  notice  of  their  pot,  the}^  observed  that  Mary 
Power,  Hannah  Stannup  &  Peter  Rice  did  laugh  &  nicker." 

Eight  persons  were  fined  for  this  "  rudeness  "  and 
"  mischeife  done  to  y^  victualls  of  Thomas  Pellet  on 
y^  Lord's   day."     In  the   margin  of   the  record  is  : 
"  Concord  men  for  spoyling  Pellet's  dinn'"." 
1  County  Court  Records. 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  145 

In  the  early  colonial  days,  no  one  could  vote,  or 
hold  office,  or  even  serve  as  juryman,  until  he  had 
been  admitted  a  freeman,  and  none  could  be  so 
admitted,  except  members  of  the  churches.^  This 
extraordinary  rule  was  departed  from  (though  slowly 
and  reluctantly),  because  it  was  found  that  a  strict 
enforcement  of  it  would  exclude  a  majority  of  the 
adult  male  population  from  taking  part  in  the  doings 
of  the  body  politic.^ 

A  more  liberal  practice  crept  in,  by  which  per- 
sons who  had  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
commonwealth,  were  allowed  the  ^^rivilege  of  voting 
in  military  and  town  affairs,  and  of  holding  town 
ofiice.  It  was  by  no  means  strange,  therefore,  that 
before  many  years  the  applications  to  be  admitted 
freemen  of  the  commonwealth  almost  ceased. 

It  is,  however,  interesting  to  observe  that  the 
practice  was  revived  in  1689,  after  the  forfeiture  of 
the  old  charter,  and  before  the  government  of  the 
Province  was  established.  In  the  spring  of  that  year, 
the  selectmen  of  Concord  made  the  following  return 
of  the  non-freemen  who  were  free-holders,  possess- 
ing houses  and  lands  of  the  yearly  value  of  six 
pounds.^ 

1  Hutchinson,  i.  30;  Lechford;  3  Mass.  Hist.  Soc.  Colls,  viii.  191, 
237. 

2  Winthrop,  ii.  209,  Savage's  note.  Hutchinson  says  that  this  re- 
quirement was  continued  in  force,  until  the  dissolution  of  the  govern- 
ment under  Andros,  "  it  being  repealed  in  appearance  only,  after  the 
restoration  of  King  Charles  the  Second."     History,  p.  31. 

3  Mass.  Archives,  v.  35,  p.  352. 

10 


146 


CONCORD  m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD. 


"  In  Concord  y^  3  of  l^^  luunth  16|a 
An  acount  taken  of  the  nonfrremen  which  are  free  holders, 
whos  housing  and  Lands  do  amount  to  the  uallew  of  six  pounds 
rante  by  the  year. 


Mr  Jams  Minerd 
Danell  Dane 
Thomas  gobile,  S[enior] 
Robord  Blood,  S 
John  wheler,  S 
Nemiah  hunt,  S 
Samuell  Davis,  S 
John  Shaperd,  S 
Abraham  Tempel 
Recherd  Tempel 
Isaac  Tempel 
Simon  Davis 
Roberd  Blood 
Simon  Blood 
Josiah  Blood 
Judath  poter 
John  Jones 


Nathanell  Stow 
Nathaell  Harwood 
Eliphelet  fox 
John  Ball 
Samuel  flecher 
Timithy  Ries 
Samuell  Straiten 
Johnethen  habord 
Joshua  Wheler 
James  Smadly 
Nathanell  Buse 
John  wood 
Abraham  wood 
Obadiah  wheler 
John  Ilaward 
Thomas  Wheler 
Steuen  Hosmer 
John  Hartwill 


Thomas:  Wheelkr: 

HOMPHARY    BaRET 

Nathaniel:  Billing 
Steuen  Hosjior 
Eliphelet  rrox 


^  Select  men 


21°  March.  1689.     Voted  by  the  Court  to  be  firemen 

Ebenezer  Prout,  Clerk. 
Consent? 

Js?  Addington     SeC^." 

Accompanying  this  document  is  a  certificate  written 
and  signed  by  the  minister  of  the  town,  which  runs 
as  follows :  * 


^  Mass.  Archives,  v.  3.5,  p.  352. 


CONCORD   IN   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  147 

"  Concord  March  12t!'  |§ 

All  whom  3'®  knowledge  of  what  is  here  exp^'ssed  doth  con- 
cerne  ma}^  please  hereby  to  understand,  that  y®  $>sons  here 
named  are  members  in  the  full  comunion  of  the  church  ;  Leiften* 
Simon  Davis,  Leiften*  Jonathan  Prescot,  Joseph  ffrench,  Thomas 
Pellet,  Samuel  Hunt ;  Eliezer  fflag,  Samuel  Hartwell,  Samuel 
Myriam,  John  Wheeler,  Samuel  How,  Abraham  Taylor,  John 
Hayward,  Nathaniel  Ball,  Samuel  Wheate,  Timothy  Wheeler, 
John  Myriam,  Daniel  Pellet ;  Wittnesse  my  hand  : 

Edwakd  Bulkely." 
"22?  March,  1689. 

All  above  written  (Except  Daniel  Pellet)  voted  to  be  ffree- 
men. 

his  age  being  questione<i.  Js^  Addington    Secy. 

Ebenezer  Prout     Clerk. 

From  these  interesting  documents,  taken  together, 
we  may  infer  that  the  thirty-five  men,  whose  names 
appear  in  the  first  list,  were  not  members  of  the 
church,  although  four  of  the  selectmen  of  that  year 
are  included  in  the  number.  Indeed,  almost  all  the 
early  families  that  survived  had  a  representative  on 
this  list  of  the  unchurched,  and  every  name  stands  for 
an  owner  of  property,  —  a  man  whose  interests  were 
thoroughly  identified  with  the  prosperity  of  the  town. 
This  return  shows  us,  as  nothing  else  could  do,  how 
completely  the  old  forms  and  regulations  had  been 
outgrown  and  quietly  allowed  to  become  obsolete. 

It  is  also  seen,  with  no  less  clearness,  that  now, 
when  the  old  charter  had  been  destroyed  by  its 
enemies,  albeit  under  due  process  of  law,^  and  Sir 

'  The  proceedings  against  the  ^lassachusetts  Company  were  by  in- 
formation in  the  nature  of  a  quo  warranto^  based  upon  supposed  neglect 


148  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Edmund  Andros,  as  Governor,  was  sailing  the  ship  of 
state,  with  no  rudder  or  compass  but  his  own  will, 
which  never  yet  had  coincided  with  the  will  of  the 
people  whom  he  was  governing,  a  new  interest  was 
felt  by  the  colonists  in  the  forms  prescribed  by  the 
old  charter,  under  which,  notwithstanding  its  defects, 
they  derived  title  to  all  their  worldly  possessions. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  great  injustice  has 
been  done  to  the  memory  of  Andros  ;  ^  but  when  rev- 
olution had  been  decided  upon,  inasmuch  as  he  was 
the  immediate  representative  of  a  bad  government  at 
home,  the  people  were  fully  justified  in  treating  him 
as  part  of  the  thing  to  be  reformed. 

He  had  exerted  himself  to  procure  the  overthrow 
of  the  charter,  which  was  revered  by  the  people  as 


or  abuse  of  the  company's  franchises.  The  suit  was  begun  in  1683, 
and  judgment  of  forfeiture  was  ordered  on  June  18,  1684,  on  default 
of  the  defendant;  but  further  time  was  allowed  for  an  appearance. 
Secretary  Edward  Rawson  did  not  receive  official  notice  of  the  court's 
final  decision  until  July  2,  1685.     Hutchinson,  i.  305,  306. 

A  commission  from  the  King  arrived  in  the  Rose  frigate  on  May 
15,  1686,  appointing  a  provisional  government  for  the  colony,  consist- 
ing of  a  Council  of  which  Joseph  Dudley  was  to  be  President. 

Sir  Edmund  Andros  arrived  on  December  9, 1680,  in  the  Kingfisher, 
bearing  commissions  as  governor  of  the  whole  of  New  England.  His 
government  was  subverted  in  April,  1689;  and  on  May  14,  1692,  Sir 
William  Phips  arrived  in  Boston  with  the  charter  creating  the  Province 
of  the  Massachusetts-Bay  in  New  England,  which  remained  in  force 
until  the  Revolution  of  1775. 

^  "  A  careful  examination  of  the  life  of  Andros  will  probably  con- 
vince the  student  that  he  was  a  brave  and  loyal  servant  of  the  crown, 
a  devout  but  not  bigoted  churchman,  and  very  far  from  being  the 
tyrant  that  New  England  traditions  have  portrayed."  Sewall's  Diary, 
i.  175,  note. 


CONCORD   m  THE   COLONIAL  PERIOD.  149 

their  palladium.  For  his  own  emolument,  he  in- 
creased the  fees  a,nd  other  expenses  incident  to  the 
transaction  of  public  business  and  the  settlement  of 
estates.  The  Governor  and  Council  laid  taxes  with- 
out consulting  those  who  were  to  pay  them,  and 
town  meetings  were  prohibited,  except  for  the  pur- 
pose of  choosing  officers  once  a  year,  or  to  comply 
with  the  Governor's  orders. 

It  is  possible,  though  not  probable,  that  these  vio- 
lations of  the  old  order  might  have  been  submitted 
to,  in  preference  to  a  resort  to  revolutionary  vio- 
lence ',  but  the  smouldering  embers  of  popular  dis- 
content were  fanned  into  a  destructive  flame,  when 
Andros,  undoubtedly  acting  under  instructions  from 
the  home  government,  declared  all  the  land  titles 
null  and  void.  Did  the  colonists  urge  a  purchase 
from  the  Indians,  he  answered  that  he  cared  no  more 
for  an  Indian  signature  than  for  "the  scratch  of  a 
bear's  paw."  The  argument  from  long-continued 
occupation,  under  a  claim  of  right,  was  dismissed 
with  the  answer,  that  no  length  of  possession  could 
make  valid  a  grant  from  one  who  had  no  title. 

With  the  proverbial  timidity  of  capital,  some  of 
the  owners  of  large  estates,  in  Boston  and  elsewhere, 
bowed  to  the  Governor's  dictum,  and  asked  that  their 
titles  might  be  confirmed  to  them  at  a  nominal  quit- 
rent,  which  was  accordingly  done,  on  the  payment 
of  substantial  fees.  But  the  mass  of  the  people 
held  aloof  from  this  recognition  of  the  theory  that 
kino;  or  courtier  could  show  a  better  title   to  the 


150  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

lands  that  had  been  reclaimed  from  the  wilderness 
by  the  exertions  of  their  fathers,  and  defended  by 
their  own  arms.  They  turned  a  cold  shoulder  upon 
men  who,  like  Samuel  Sewall,  were  in  other  respects 
worthy  of  honor,  and  in  full  sympathy  with  the  de- 
sire for  a  return  to  the  old  order  of  things  under 
the  colony  charter,  but  had  not  the  courage  to  risk 
all  that  they  possessed,  in  a  contest  with  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  crown.-^  With  characteristic  sim- 
plicity Sewall  writes :  "  The  generality  of  People  are 
very  averse  from  complying  with  anything  that  may 
alter  the  Tenure  of  their  Lands,  and  look  upon  me 
very  sorrowfully  that  I  have  given  away."  ^ 

The  Revolution  that  expelled  James  II.  from  the 
throne  of  England  afforded  the  opportunity  desired 
by  the  colonists,  who  rose  almost  as  one  man,  to 
defend  their  homes  and  the  rights  of  Englishmen. 
In  1689,  on  the  Nineteenth  of  April,  an  oft-recur- 
ring date  in  American  history,  the  Concord  people 
despatched  their  military  company  to  Boston,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  John  Heald,  to  assist  in 
the  revolt.^  The  revolution  was  accomplished  with- 
out blood-shed,  but  a  valuable  precedent  was  estab- 
lished for  America,  as  well  as  for  England.     For 

1  It  is  believed  that  no  one  in  Concord  petitioned  foi*  a  confirma- 
tion of  title,  with  the  exception  of  Rebecca,  widow  of  Peter  Bulkeley, 
Esquire,  who,  in  1688,  joined  with  Thomas  Hinchman  in  a  petition  for 
the  confirmation  of  their  title  to  "  the  moiety  or  one  half  part  of  the 
Indian  Plantation  called  Nashobah."     Mass.  Archives,  v.  128,  p.  266. 

2  Diary,  i.  231,  note, 
a  Shattuck,  p.  6G. 


CONCORD  IN  THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD.  151 

the  first,  but  not  for  the  last  time,  on  this  continent, 

"  English  law  and  English  thought 
'Gainst  the  self-will  of  England  fought." 

The  overthrow  of  the  Andros  administration  left 
the  colonists  without  any  legal  or  de  fado  govern- 
ment, and,  true  to  their  instincts,  the  towns  met 
in  convention,  on  May  22d,  to  consider  the  state  of 
affairs.  The  people  of  Concord  defined  their  posi- 
tion in  a  striking  and  truly  characteristic  manner. 
They  were  duly  represented  in  the  convention, 
which  decided  to  reinstate  the  government  chosen 
under  the  charter  in  1686,  and  to  wait  for  orders 
from  the  new  king  and  queen  in  England.^ 

This  action  of  the  convention  was  foreshadowed, 
two  days  earlier,  in  the  vote  of  the  freeholders  of 
this  town,  as  shown  by  the  following  certificate  of 
the  Selectmen  ^ :  — 

"  May  20^^  1689. 

Att  a  meeting  of  the  ffree-Holders  of  the  Towne  of  Concord, 
wee  do  mutually  desire  that  according  as  wee  have  declared  our- 
selves by  a  writeing  sent  by  the  Hands  of  our  representatives, 
that  our  old  authority  chosen  &  sworn  in  the  year  1686  w^^  the 
deput^'es  then  chosen  &  sent  to  the  court  may  reasume  their 
places  and  if  that  cannot  be  attained,  our  desires  is  that  that  a 
councell  of  war  ma}'  be  chosen  &  settled  by  our  representi- 
tives  when  met  together  att  boston  w*^  the  rest  of  the  repre- 
sentitives  of  the  country. 

^  Ebenezer  Prout  of  Concord,  was  made  "  Clerk  to  the  Representa- 
tives," and  as  such,  signed  the  order  for  the  removal  of  Andros  to  the 
Castle,  on  June  6,  1689.     Mass.  Archives,  v.  107,  p.  84. 

2  Mass.  Archives,  v.  107,  p.  44. 


152  CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD. 

Signed  the  date  above  mentioned  being  then  a  generall  voat 
of  the  freeholders  of  this  Town. 

Thomas  Wheeler 
Steven  Hosmek 
Joseph  French 

Select  men  in  y®  name  of  y^  Rest." 

The  votes  of  other  towns  were  sufficiently  firm  in 
their  tone,  showing  a  due  appreciation  of  the  serious 
condition  of  public  affairs,  and  affirming  the  popular 
view  of  the  questions  involved.  They  were,  how- 
ever, couched  in  general  terms,  and  the  official  com- 
munication from  the  Concord  Selectmen,  as  given 
above,  —  ill-spelled  and  ungrammatical  as  it  is,  — 
was  the  only  formal  declaration  sent  to  the  seat  of 
government,  of  readiness  to  go  to  war  in  defence 
of  popular  rights. 

The  emergency  was  an  education.  The  citizens 
forgot  their  dislike  of  free  speech ;  their  minds  were 
lifted  out  of  the  range  of  petty  scandal  and  neigh- 
borhood gossip,  to  loftier  considerations  of  the  welfare 
of  the  race.  They  were  ennobled  by  the  occasion, 
and  when  the  rights  of  Englishmen  were  assailed, 
stood  shoulder  to  shoulder,  as  if  they  recognized 
the  immense  significance  of  their  action  to  future 
generations  of  men. 

It  was  not  difficult  for  the  people  of  Concord  to 
take  this  stand.  It  was  the  way  of  their  ancestors, 
established  long  years  before  in  the  old  country ; 
and  the  sons  were  but  giving  expression,  in  their 
day  and  generation,  to  the  ancient  Kentish  spirit, 


CONCORD  IN  THE  COLONIAL  PERIOD.  153 


which  had  already  become  the  spirit  of  Massachu- 
setts, and  was  destined  at  a  later  day  to  animate  a 
great  nation. 

"  The  Puritan  Spirit,  perishing  not, 

To  Concord's  yeomen  the  signal  sent, 
And  spake  in  the  voice  of  the  cannon  shot. 
That  severed  the  chains  of  a  continent." 


INDEX. 


AaNTONUISH,  14. 

Acton,  54  ;  its  eastern  boundary,  7,  8,  65;  part  of,  joined  to  Carlisle,  8. 
Adams,  John,  71;  his  house,  71,  73;  sells  estate  to  Stratton,  87. 

Samuel,  15. 

Thomas,  sells  estate  to  Stratton,  87. 
Allen,  Thomas,  grant  to,  61,  65. 
Amusements,  140,  141. 
Audros,  Sir  Edmund,  Governor,  148;  his  character  and  proceedings, 

148,  149 ;  his  government  subverted,  148,  150. 
Angier's  Mills,  15. 
Annursnack  Hill,  70,  103. 
Atawans,  16.     (See  Tahatowan.) 


Baker,  Wllliam,  his  house-lot,  86. 
Ball,  John,  125,  146. 

Nathaniel,  32,  83,  147;  his  house-lot,  87. 
Barker,  Francis,  his  dwelling-place,  86. 

John,  his  dwelling-place,  86;  Junior,  136. 
Barnes,  John,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 

Barrett,  Humphrey,  20;  his  house-lot,  88;  ensign,  127;   selectman, 
146. 

Widow,  73. 
Barron,  John,  35. 
Bateman,  Thomas,  40,  83;  on  committee  to  divide  highways,  &c.,  70; 

overseer,  76 ;  his  house-lot,  88. 
Bateman's  Pond,  83. 

Bay  Road,  The,  80;  house-lots  on,  86,  87. 
Beaver  Dam,  79. 

Pond,  10,  32,  82,  95. 
Bedford,  8,  9,  61;  plan  of,  6;  its  bounds  in  part,  10. 
Beers,  Richard,  53;  his  return  of  land,  54. 


156  INDEX. 


Bellows,  John,  73. 
Bennett,  James,  35. 
Berry  Corner,  8. 
Bigelow  Tavern,  140. 

Billerica,  6,  54,  61,  84,  113,  114;  extracts  from  its  records,  9;  bounds 
renewed  with,  9;  old  line  of,  6,  10;  bridge,  77;  road,  80;  old 
line  of,  6,  10;  collects  rates  of  the  Bloods,  62;  new  grant  to,  65; 
controversy  with  Concord  and  the  Bloods,  65,  66. 
Billings,  John,  20, 

Nathaniel,  99;  his  house-lot,  87;  selectman,  146;  Junior,  73. 
Births,  record  of,  21. 
Blackbirds,  destruction  of,  19. 
Black  Point,  125. 
Blood,  Elizabeth,  51,  65. 

James,  40,  57,  59;  sergeant,  on  committee  to  divide  highways, 
&c.,  70;  his  second  division,  82;  his  house-lot,  88;  his  servant, 
103;  Junior,  his  second  division,  82;  his  house-lot,  88. 
John,  part-owner  of  Blood's  Farms,  62. 
Josiah,  65,  146. 

Robert,  143,  146;  his  petition,  51;  acquires  land,  62;  pays  rates 
in  Concord  and  Billerica,  62-64 ;  assaults  Concord  officers,  63 ; 
his  agreement  with  Concord,  64;  his  controversy  with  Concord 
and  Billerica  about  bounds,  65,  66;  Junior,  63,  64,  146. 
Samuel,  65. 
Simon,  64,  146. 
Blood's  Farms,  bounds  of,  6;  how  acquired,  61,  62;  taxed  by  Concord, 
63;   annexation   of,  64,  65;    their  bounds,   how  renewed,  65; 
occupants  seek  shelter  in  Concord,  104. 
Bohow,  Benjamin,  58. 

Sarah,  58. 
Books,  belonging  to  town,  19,  128;  reading  of,  130. 
Boston,  road  to,  80. 
Brick-kiln  field,  19,  67. 

Bridge,  foot,  over  North  River,  19;  over  South  River,  69,  70;  North 
River,  land  reserved  for,  70;  assigned   to   East  Quarter,  74; 
carried  away  by  flood,  78. 
Bridges,  support  of,  69  ;  assigned  to  the  quarters,  74 ;  county,  77 ;  their 

location,  77,  78;  over  Mill  Brook,  &c.,  79;  allowance  for,  79. 
Brooke,  Caleb,  his  dwelling-place,  87. 
Gershom,  20. 

Joshua,  20;  his  dwelling-place,  87. 

Thomas,  1;  on  committee  for  valuing  cattle,  37  f  to  divide 
highways,  &c.,  70;  other  committees,  52,  66;  takes  second 
division  in  East  Quarter,  68,  71;  land  assigned  to,  73;  sells 
estate  to  Wheeler,  87;  licensed  to  sell  liquor  to  Indians,  101. 


INDEX.  157 


Brookfield,  fight  at,  108-113. 

Brook  Meadow,  85;  farm  so  called,  91. 

Brooks,  Noah,  58. 

Browmick,  Castle,  89. 

Brown,  Abishai,  fences  Hill  Burying-Ground,  99. 

Browne,  Thomas,  66 ;  on  town  committee,  9 ;  ensign,  99 ;  wounded  by 
Indians,  105,  124. 

Bulkeley,  Rev.  Edward,  90;  petitioner,  78;  attorney  for  his  brother,  82; 
succeeds  his  father,  24;  new  agreement  of  town  with  him,  25; 
criticisms  of  him,  31 ;  spelling  of  the  name,  41 ;  his  house-lot, 
88;  his  certificate,  147. 
Grace,  her  embarkation,  1;  sells  estate  to  Wheelers,  89;  Buss's 
deed  to  her,  94;  her  dispute  with  town  about  mill  privilege,  96, 
Bev.  John,  returns  to  England,  37. 

Eev.  Peter,  his  embarkation,  1;  his  English  home,  3;  founder  of 
Concord,  1;  chosen  teacher,  2,  3;  name,  how  spelled,  42;  treaty 
with  Indians  at  his  house,  12,  14,  16;  sole  pastor,  24;  his  sal- 
ary, ib.]  writes  petition  in  Martin's  case,  28;  his  conduct  in 
Jones  matter,  36;  death  and  burial,  41,  43;  character  and  posi- 
tion, 42-45;  his  letters,  42,  43;  his  attitude  towards  the  Indians, 
100;  his  rate,  76;  his  farm,  81;  buys  estate  of  Hayward,  85; 
his  dwelling-place,  68,  86,  89,  131;  his  library,  128;  grants 
to,  94;  builds  town  mill,  94;  covenant  about  mill  privilege,  96. 
Peter,  Esquire,  son  of  Rev.  Edward,  90;  chosen  to  assist  in  seating 
the  meeting-house,  26 ;  on  committee  to  treat  with  the  Bloods, 
64 ;  name,  how  spelled,  41 ;  his  house-lot,  86,  91 ;  military  offices, 
122,  126;  his  position  and  services,  90,  91;  his  interest  in  the 
Iron  Works,  136;  his  widow's  petition  for  confirmation  of  title, 
150. 
Peter,  of  London,  apothecary,  82. 
Rebecca,  petitions  for  confirmation  of  title,  150. 

Bulkeley's  Farm,  82. 

Burgess,  Thomas,  89;  his  house-lot,  86. 

Burial-Hill,  The,  86,  97. 

Burying-Grounds,  88;  their  age,  97,  98;  fencing  them,  98,  99. 

Buss,  Joseph,  124. 
Nathaniel,  146. 

William,  3,  28,  73  ;  keeps  ordinary  but  declines  to  sell  liquor,  138, 
139;  chirurgeon,  30;  his  house-lot,  88,  31;  overseer,  76;  his  deed 
to  Grace  Bulkeley,  94;  keeps  mill,  95;  ensign,  125;  his  petition, 
126 ;  lieutenant,  127. 

Buttrick,  Joseph,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 

William,  his  embarkation,  1 ;  his  English  home,  3  ;  opposes  division 
of  highways,  70;  his  testimony,  13, 17;  his  house-lot,  88;  released 
from  training,  121. 


158  INDEX. 

CaATO,  alias  Goodmans,  16;  sells  Sudbury  five  miles,  16. 

Cade,  Jack,  47. 

Cambridge,  15,  84,  108;  grant  to,  50. 

Farms,  road  to,  80. 
Carlisle,  54,  62,  65;  District  of,  8;  incorporated,  8. 
Carts,  impressment  of,  5. 

P  .   r  James  and  Sarah,  59,  60. 

Catechizing  of  children,  &c.,  24,  129. 

Cattle,  how  herded  and  pastured,  19,  20,  103;  commons  for,  55;  brand- 
ing of,  103;  dry,  pasturing  of,  56. 

Cedar  Swamp,  9. 

Chambers,  Charles,  82. 

Charities,  early,  133,  134. 

Charlestown,  15,  41;  road  to,  80. 

Charter,  of  the  Colony,  its  dissolution,  90;  proceedings  against,  147, 
148;  of  the  Province,  148. 

Chelmsford  laid  out,  51,  54,  55,  59,  62,  66,  113,  124;  bridge,  77. 

Church,  The,  organization  of,  3,  22,  23;  not  transplanted,  2;  affairs 
of,  how  conducted,  26 ;  petition  of,  28,  29 ;  advised  by  Boston 
elders,  35;  how  affected  by  Mr.  Jones's  removal,  36;  members 
of,  147. 

Clark,  William,  buys  land,  94. 

Clerk  of  the  Writs,  21. 

Cliffs,  The,  67. 

Colburn  house-lot,  81,  85. 

Commissioners  for  the  Colonies,  their  order,  2;  for  improving  mea- 
dows, 34;  to  end  small  matters,  20. 

Common,  The,  line  of,  94;  encroached  upon  by  mill-pond,  92. 

Commons,  habitations  privileged  with,  to  be  recorded,  19;  votes  of  town 
about,  55;  not  to  be  overcharged,  20;  to  be  used  for  repair  of 
mill  damage,  94,  97;  cow,  defined,  68;  to  be  allowed  to  poor 
men,  134. 

Comy,  Daniel,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 

Concord,  first  inland  plantation,  50;  name  of,  5;  immunity  from  pub- 
lic charges,  5,  37;  Old,  map  of,  5-10,  32;  Wood's  plan  of,  7; 
map  of,  by  Hales,  7 ;  petition  for  reduction  of  rates,  38,  39 ;  en- 
largement of,  50,  52;  return  of  land  by,  51;  River,  8,  9,  10,  61, 
71;  abatement  of  falls  in  river,  33;  sale  of  weir,  &c.,  at,  16; 
fire  in,  34;  population  and  resources,  37,  138;  rates  assessed 
upon,  37;  rates  reduced,  40;  removal  from,  prohibited,  40; 
petitions  for  land,  52,  53;  old  bounds  of,  7~10,  32,  59;  trouble 
with  the  Bloods  about  taxes,  63;  makes  agreement  with  them, 
64,  65;  controversy  with  Billerica  and  the  Bloods,  65,  66;  old 
records  of,  66;  meeting  of ,  about  second  divisions,  68;  divided 


INDEX.  159 


into  quarters,  68;  object  of  the  division,  69;  relieved  in  part 
from  expense  of  bridges,  77,  79;  description  of,  in  1666,  84; 
men  killed  by  Indians,  105 ;  keeps  day  of  thanksgiving,  113  ; 
military  preparations  at,  114;  fined  for  want  of  watch-house, 
stocks,  &c.,  117;  magazine  at,  114,  119;  its  military  company 
to  be  exercised,  120  ;  its  garrison-houses,  123 ;  ordered  to  choose 
a  constable  in  place  of  Wm.  Buss,  127 ;  foot-company  of,  divided, 
128;  education  in,  128-133;  subscribes  for  Harvard  College,  130; 
gift  to,  from  Capt.  Timothy  Wheeler,  129,  131;  early  charities 
of,  133,  134;  amusements  in,  140;  its  action  at  the  time  of  the 
Andros  Revolution,  151 ;  only  town  to  declare  for  war,  152. 

Concord  Village.     (See  New  Grant.) 

Conoway,  Peter  and  Sarah,  59,  60,  61. 

Constable,  office  of,  19. 

Cornfields  to  be  fenced,  19. 

^««|!^  I  William,  35. 
Costin  > 

Cotton,  John,  exchanges  cows  with  town,  26. 

Rev.  John,  23. 

Court-house,  building  of,  92,  93. 

Courts,  where  held,  92. 

Cowdrey,  William,  101. 

Cranefield,  19,  07,  68. 

Curry,  David,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 

Curtis,  Ephraim,  111,  113. 

DaKIN,  John,  his  dwelling-place,  85. 

Joseph,  fences  burying-places,  99. 

Thomas,  73;  sells  estate  to  Heywood,  85;  his  dweUing-place,  ib. 
Dane,  Daniel,  146;  buys  farm  with  Goble,  83. 

Joseph,  his  dwelling-place,  87. 

Thomas,  73 ;  embarks  with  Mrs.  Bulkeley,  1 ;  his  English  home, 
3;  his  house  lot,  71,  74,  86,  93,  97. 
Danforth,  Jonathan,  his  plans,  6;  surveys  Billerica  line,  9;  on  com- 
mittee to  settle  mill  dispute,  97. 
Davis,  Samuel,  146;  Junior,  9. 

Simon,  146;  his  dwelling-place,  89;  makes  no  return  of  land,  89; 
lieutenant,  127,  147;  at  Brookfield,  110,  111. 
Davy,  103. 

Deaths,  record  of,  21. 

Dedham,  meeting-house  at,  22;  removal  from,  prohibited,  40. 
Deer  Island,  Indians  removed  to,  115,  117. 
Depositions  about  Indian  purchase,  12-15. 
Deputies,  residence  of,  20. 


160  INDEX. 


Divisions,  First  and  Second,  18,  67;  how  made,   68,   69,  74;   not  to 

hinder  highways,  69. 
Doggett,  Thomas,  35. 
Dongye  Hole,  72,  73. 
Dorchester,  settlement  of,  2. 
Draper,  Goody,  convicted,  103. 

Roger,  38. 
Dublet,  Thomas,  convicted,  102. 
Dudley,  Francis,  his  dwelling-place,  85 

Gov.  Joseph,  90;  his  appointment,  liS. 

Gov.  Thomas,  his  farm,  61. 
Dunsdell,  81. 

D'Urfey,  Thomas,  quoted,  47. 
Dwellings,  first,  situation  of,  18. 


EaMES  family,  massacre  of,  116. 
"East  End,"  75,  76. 
"  East  Quarter  Line,"  72. 
Edmonds,  Joshua,  70,  73, 

Walter,  40. 
Education,  128-133. 
Egg  Eock,  71. 
Eliot,  Rev.  John,  102,  115. 
Elmbrook  Meadow,  67. 
Endicott,  Gov.  John,  29,  45. 
Enfield,  24. 

Enlargement  of  bounds.     (See  New  Grant.) 
Estabrook,  Rev.  Joseph,  settled  as  colleague,  24;  his  burial-place,  43; 

compared  with  Mr.  Edward  Bulkeley,  31. 
Evarts,  John,  35. 

Fairfield,  35. 

Fairhaven,  73,  83,  103  ;  way  to,  81;  mining  operations  at,  137. 

Farm-houses,  21. 

Farrar,  Jacob,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 

Stephen,  124. 
Farwell,  Henry,  28,  68,  71. 

John,  his  house-lot,  86. 
Fidelity,  oath  of,  substituted  for  freeman's  oath,  145 ;  those  taking  it 

to  be  recorded,  20. 
Fields,  Great  Common,  81,  83. 
Fifty- Acre  Meadow,  81. 
Fiske,  John,  at  Brookfield,  110. 


INDEX.  161 


Flagg,  Eleazer,  147;  constable,  63;  granted  laud  for  tan-pits,  93,  94; 

his  house,  131 ;  sells  land  to  Clark,  94. 
Fletcher,  Francis,  22;  his  house-lot,  86. 

Hezekiah,  134.        , 

Joseph,  22,  82. 

Samuel,  82,  146. 

William,  his  house-lot,  86. 
Flint's  Farm,  description  of,  82  ;  way  to,  81. 

Pond,  72,  73,  82;  ditch  from,  68,  95. 
Flint,  John,  20,  26,  57,  59;  town  clerk,  66;    his  house-lot,  88;  lieu- 
tenant, 125. 

Thomas,  2,  3 ;  his  character  and  services,  45,  46 ;  his  death,  41 ; 
his  farm,  82;  assists  Indians,  101. 
Fort  Bridge,  79. 
Founell,  John,  97. 
Fox,  Eliphalet,  selectman,  146;  his  house-lot,  86. 

Thomas,  28,  29. 
Fox's  Bridge,  79. 
Freemen,  how  admitted,  145-147. 
French,  Joseph,  9,  147;  selectman,  152. 
Frizzell,  William,  85;  released  from  training,  121. 
Frontier  Towns,  removal  from,  prohibited,  40;  troop  for,  122. 
Fuller,  William,  fined,  94. 
Fur-trade,  company  for,  17. 

Garfield,  Benjamin  and  Thomas,  32. 

Garrison-houses,  their  erection  and  situation,  123. 

Goble,  Thomas,  146;  buys  farm  with  Dane,  83. 

Gomps,  53. 

"  Goodman  "  and  "  Goodwife,"  how  applied,  27. 

Goodmans,  16.  . 

Goodman's  Hill,  16. 

Gookin,  Gen.  Daniel,  46;  friend  of  the  Indians,  102,  115;  his  report 
about  them,  117;  his  report  about  the  Concord  military  com- 
pany, 127. 

Goose  Pond,  68,  72. 

Grammar  School,  128. 

Grant,  First,  5;  map  of,  5-10;  how  laid  out,  7,  17;  its  bounds,  7; 
description  of,  17;  excess  in,  as  laid  out,  11 ;  Xew,  50-61. 

Graves,  John,  28. 

Great  Common  Fields,  81. 

Great  James  Natocotos,  53. 

Great  Meadow,  81,  83. 

Griffin,  Richard,  28,  40,  45. 

11 


162  INDEX. 


Groton,  road  to,  81 ;  town  destroyed  by  Indians,  41 ;  people  seek  refuge 
in  Concord,  104. 

Habitations  privileged  with  commons,  record  of,  19. 
Hales,  John  G.,  his  survey  and  map,  7. 
Half-way  Brook,  79. 

Halsted,  William,  his  gift  to  the  town,  133. 
Hartford,  founders  of,  37. 
Hartwell,  John,  146  ;  his  house-lot,  87. 
Samuel,  147. 

William,  20,  78,  123;  his  house-lot,  87;  overseer,  76. 
Harvard  College,  early  graduates,  37;  aid  to,  130. 
Harwood,  Nathaniel,  146. 

Hayward,  George,  52,  71,  73,  74,  124;  on  committee  to  divide  high- 
ways, &c.,  70;  sells  estate  to  Mr.  Bulkeley,  85;  overseer,  76; 
his  land,  85;  death,  ib. ;  builds  mills,  95;  killed  by  Indians,  105. 
John,  127,  146,  147. 
Joseph,  120. 
Heald,  Major  Benj.  F.,  8. 

Dorothy,  her  house-lot,  88. 
John,  3;  his  house-lot, 88;  lieutenant,  150. 
Heywood,  John,  buys  estate  of  Dakin,  85,  88;  constable's  return,  118; 

keeps  ordinary,  139,  140. 
Henry,  Indian,  convicted,  103. 
Higginson,  Rev.  Francis,  33. 

Highways,  not  hindered  by  second  division,  69;  division  of,  69,  74,  75; 
to  be  maintained  by  Quarters,  75;  defined,  75,  79-81 ;  north  of 
Burying- Ground  on  Main  Street,  88;  same  discontinued,  98. 
Hinchman,  Thomas,  122;  captain  of  troop,  125;  petitions  for  confirma- 
tion of  title,  150. 
Hingham,  meeting-house  at,  92. 

Hoar,  John,  26,  89;  prosecution  of,  30,  31;  his  estate,  89;  exchanges 
lands  with  Wright,  89;  takes  charge  of  Indians,  115-117;  his 
petition,  117. 
Hog-pen,  Old,  70,  81. 
Hog-pens,  103. 
Hog-pen  Walk,  68,  70. 
Hooker,  Rev.  Thomas,  37. 
Horsmonden,  1. 

Hosmer,  James,  66,  73;  his  embarkation,  2;  English  home,  3;  member 
of  the  chvirch,  28;  overseer,  76;  his  house-lot  and  farm,  84,  85; 
selectman,  139. 
James,  Junior,  his  farm,  85;  killed  by  Indians,  ib.,  105. 
Capt.  Stephen,  6,  11,  83,  133. 


INDEX.  163 

Hosmer,  Stephen,  selectman,  146,  152;  buys  "  Brook-Meadow,"  91. 
Hough,  Atherton,  grant  to,  61. 

]Vli-s.,  50. 
House-lots,  how  laid  out,  18,  67;  location  of,  81-89. 
Houses,  early,  description  of,  21;  their  situation,  37;  not  to  be  built 

more  than  half  a  mile  from  meeting-house,  except,  21. 
How,  Samuel,  124,  147. 
Howe,  John,  66. 
Hubbard,  Jonathan,  146. 
Hunt,  John,  83. 

Samuel,  147;  his  house-lot,  88. 

William,  3,  40;  buys  land  of  Mr.  Bulkeley,  80. 

Nehemiah,  20,  146;  his  dwelling-place,  86. 
Hutchinson,  Capt.  Edward,  his  expedition,  108. 

Indians,  purchase  from,  3, 12-16 ;  destroy  Groton,  41 ;  their  paths  one 
foot  broad,  4,  79;  treatment  of  them  by  colonists,  100-104;  sale 
of  liquor  to  them,  101 ;  their  claim  to  New  Grant  extinguished, 
52,  56-60;  of  Musketaquid,  12;  land  reserved  for,  53;  their 
claim  to  Blood's  Farms  extinguished,  61 ;  their  habits  and 
occupations,  101;  value  of  their  testimony,  103;  sales  of  pork 
by,  104;  war  with,  under  Philip,  104-119;  Concord  men  killed 
and  wounded  by,  105;  the  attack  on  the  Shepards,  106;  fight 
with,  at  Brookfield,  108-113;  "Praying"  suspected,  114;  or- 
dered to  Deer  Island  and  Concord,  115,  124;  taken  away  by 
Mosley,  116,  117. 

Ingolds,  Ebenezer,  60. 

Inheritance,  law  of,  47. 

Iron  Works,  19,  91;  authorized  in  Concord,  135;  land  of,  ib.,  136; 
clerk  of,  140. 

Jays,  destruction  of,  19. 

Jehoiakin,  his  testimony,  13,  15,  16. 

Jenckes,  Joseph,  136. 

Jethro,  his  testimony,  14,  16. 

John  Tahatowon,  53. 

Jolm  Thomas,  53,  58,  60. 

Johnson,  Capt.  Edward,  quoted,  3,  4,  18. 

Jones,  Ephraim,  136;  buys  Wright  Tavern  lot,  92. 

Rev.  John,   14,  15,   24,  28;   chosen  pastor,  23;   his  removal  to 
Connecticut,  35,  39. 

John,  52,  53,  146;  his  house-lot,  88. 

Samuel,  136;  clerk  of  the  bona,  127. 


164  INDEX, 


Joseph,  110. 
Josiah,  103. 
Judson,  Grace,  22. 

Jeremiah,  Joseph,  and  Joshua,  22. 

William,  his  lot,  22. 

Kent,  County  of,  2,  3;  shield  and  motto  of,  47;  its  influence  in 

Middlesei,  40-48,  152. 
King  Philip's  War,  104. 
Knight,  Jonathan,  136. 

LaMSON,  Elizabeth,  143. 
Widow,  143. 

Lancaster,  7,  41;  road,  74,  78,  85;  people  seek  refuge  in  Concord,  104. 

Land,  character  of,  33,  34,  38,  39,  50;  petition  for,  by  Wheeler  and 
others,  38,  49;  town's  petition  for,  50;  waste,  how  rated,  64; 
common  and  undivided,  83;  report  about,  83;  flowed  by  mill- 
pond,  96;  titles  declared  void,  149;  tenure  of,  150;  division  of, 
18;  grants  of,  how  recorded,  84;  transcripts  of,  84;  lease  of,  19; 
to  be  truly  brought  in,  20;  deficiency  in,  made  up,  71,  83. 

Law,  John,  tenant  of  town,  55;  rent  due  from  him,  19,  20. 
Stephen,  tenant  of  town,  55. 

Lechford,  Thomas,  quoted,  24. 

Lee,  Joseph,  83. 

Leihtenegger,  Augustus,  works  mine  at  Fairhaven,  137. 

Lettin,  Richai'd,  38. 

Lexington,  48;  line  of,  on  Bedford,  10. 

Lincoln,  32;  bounds  of,  in  part,  10. 

Liquor,  sale  of,  101,  138-140. 

Littleton,  54. 

LoveweU's  Fight,  113. 

MaNTATUCKET,  14. 

Marlborough,  112;  road,  80. 

Marriages,  record  of,  21 ;  how  contracted,  141-143. 

Marshall,  Capt.  Thomas,  buys  estate  of  Willard,  41;  sells  to  Woodis,  85. 

Martin,  Ambrose,  prosecution  of,  26-30;  petition  of  the  church  in  his 

favor,  28;  his  house  and  land  sold,  29. 
Mashoba,  52.     (See  Nashoba.) 
Mason,  Capt.  Hugh,  105. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  Colony  of,  104;  the  Province,  148. 
Mather,  Ptev.  Cotton,  27,  140;  quoted,  24. 


INDEX.  165 


Meadow,  Great,  67;  town,  67,  68,  72;  reserved  for  minister,  70. 
Meadows,  wetness  of,  33,  34,  38,  39;  to  be  protected  from  animals,  19; 

division  of,  67. 
Meeting  House,  first,  timber  for,  22;  location  of,  21,  22,  97;  second, 

building  of ,  19,  91;  seating  of,  26;  description  and  use  of,  92, 

93;  weather-vane  on,  93. 
"  Meeting-house  Frame,  The,"  22. 
Meeting-house  Green,  94. 
Merchant  Thomas,  14,  15,  53, 
Meriam,  George,  68,  71,  73;  his  house-lot,  87. 
John,  147;  his  house-lot,  87. 

Joseph,  his  gift  to  the  town,  20;  his  grave-stone,  97. 
Robert,  28,  68,  71,  73;  selectman,  139;  his  gift  to  the  town,  134; 

deacon,  26;  his  house-lot,  87;  on  committee  to  divide  highways, 

&c.,  70, 
Samuel,  147. 
Middlebrook,  Joseph,  35,  40. 

Middlesex  County,  map  of,  7;  its  population,  46,  48;  bridges,  77. 
Miles,  John,  20,  73;  his  house-lot,  88. 
Mill,  town,  89,  94-97,  131;  houses,  21. 
Mill-pond,  how  formed,  95;  encroaches  upon  Common,  92. 
"  Mill-dam,  The,"  95. 
Mill  Brook,  18,  78;  division  line  between  Quarters,  71,  72;  bridges 

over,  79;  house-lots  laid  out  to,  86;  pond  formed  by,  95. 
Military  preparations  at  Concord,  114;  draft  ordered,  119;  company, 

beginning  of,  120;  duty,  persons  subject  to,  26.;  exemptions, 

121;  officers,  121-127;   arms,   121;   offices  and  titles,   how  es- 
teemed, 125;  companies  reorganized,  125,  127;  foot  company, 

divided,  128;  despatched  to  Boston,  1-50. 
Militia,  committee  of,  123 ;  of  Concord,  their  request,  124. 
Mine  Hill,  137. 
Mine  House,  137. 
Mining  operations,  135-137. 
Ministerial  wood-lot,  131. 
Ministers,  rates  for,   19;  support  of,   35;  their  ordination,  23;  wood 

for,  25;  method  of  settling,  26;  their  numbers  and  character, 

36,  37. 
Minott,  James,  146;  keeps  the  mill,  95,  131;  captain,  127. 

Rebecca,  95,  131. 
Mitchell,  Jonathan,  3,  35. 
Mosley,  Captain,  removes  Indians,  116,  117. 
"  Mr.  and  Mrs.,"  how  applied,  27. 
Muckquamack,  Peter,  57. 
Musketaquid,  5;  meaning  of  name,  71;  settlement  at,  1;  River,  67,  71; 

name  changed  to  Concord,  5. 


166  INDEX. 


Muttunkatucka,  13. 
Mystic  Bridge,  77. 


NaGOG  Pond,  55. 

Naanonsquaw,  58,  60. 

Naaruhpanit,  57,  59. 

Narragansett  Fort,  fight  at,  105. 

Nashoba  Plantatiou,  14,  51,  55,  59,  105,  106;  line  of,  54;  deserted, 

117. 
Brook,  55. 

Indians,  removal  of,  115-117;  their  return,  117. 
Nasquaw,  John,  59,  60. 
Natanquaticke,  16. 
Natick,  14,  57;  Indians,  115. 
Natocotos,  Great  James,  53. 
Nattatawants,  grant  to,  51 ;  sells  land,  62. 
Nashawtuck,  14,  67,  81;  bridge  near,  69,  78. 
Neepanaum,  Mary,  57. 
New  Grant,  The,  plan  of,  6 ;  petition  and  orders  for,  50-53;  for  feeding, 

52,  103;  Indian  claim  to,  52;  laid  out  by  Beers  and  Noyes,  53, 

54;  to  be  a  free  common,  &c.,  55;  deeds  of  land  included  in, 

56-60;  bounds  of,  65. 
Nimrod,  14,  15. 
Nine-Acre  Corner,  81,  137. 
Nipmuck  Country,  108. 
North  River,  bridges  over,  19,  71. 
North  Quarter,  roads  in,  81.     (See  Quarters.) 
Notawquatuckquaw,  14,  15. 
Nowell,  Increase,  grant  to,  01,  65. 
Noyes,  Thomas,  surveyor,  53,  54. 
Nssquan,  53. 
Nuttankatucka,  13. 

OdELL,  village,  1,  42. 

Odell,  William,  35. 

Oldmans,  16. 

Ordinaries,  138-141. 

Overseers  of  the  Quarters,  75,  76. 

Parker,  Moses,  58. 
Pellet,  Daniel,  99,  147. 
Mary,  144. 


INDEX.  167 


Pellet,  Thomas,  147;  his  dwelling-place,  87;  assisted  by  the  town,  133  ; 

loses  his  dinner,  144. 
Pennsylvania,  grants  in,  how  laid  out,  11. 
Persons,  undesirable,  not  to  be  entertained,  20. 
Phips,  Sir  William,  Governor,  148. 
Pittamey,  Andrew,  60. 
Plans  of  towns,  6. 
Plymouth,  settlement  at,  2. 
Pompant,  53. 
Ponkapog  Indians,  115. 
Poor,  support  of,  133,  134;  silent,  143. 
Pork,  sale  of,  regulated,  104. 
Potter,  Judah,  146. 

Luke,  28,  71,  73;  deacon,  26;  his  house-lot,  73,  86. 

Samuel,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 
Potter's  Bridge,  79. 

Lane,  86. 
Pound,  town,  93,  94. 
Power,  Mary,  144. 
Pratt,  Thomas,  82. 
Prescott,    Jonathan,   79;    his    dwelling-place,    98;    lieutenant,    147; 

chirurgeon,  30;  grant  of  land  to,  98. 
Prout,  Ebenezer,  builds  mill,  95;  clerk,  128,  146,  147,  151;  takes  poor 
child  as  apprentice,  132 ;  signs  order  for  removal  of  Andros  to 
the  Castle,  151. 

Timothy,  82. 
Prout's  Farm,  82. 

Folly,  95. 
Public  Houses,  138-140. 


QUABAUG,  108. 

Quarters,  division  of  town  into,  68;  limits  of,  71-74;  South  or  West, 
70;  its  limits,  71,  72;  division  of  wood  in,  72;  East,  its  limits, 
71,  72;  North,  its  limits,  71;  assignment  to  them  of  highways 
and  bridges,  74,  75;  to  hold  town  harmless  from  damage  for  de- 
fective ways,  &c.,  75:  overseers  of,  75,  76;  records  of,  84. 


HaINER,  Samuel,  29. 

Rates,  minister,  19,  25,  64;  public,  how  payable,  37,  40;  for  highways, 

75,  76. 
Read,  Dr.  Philip,  27;  prosecution  of,  30-32. 
Rice,  Peter,  144. 


168  INDEX. 


Rice,  Richard,  31,  71;  his  testimony,  13,  17;  his  dwelling-place,  71,  73, 
85,  87. 
Timothy,  124,  146. 
Richardson,  James,  110. 
Ripley,  Dr.  Ezra,  quoted,  43. 
River,  how  crossed,  78. 
Robinson,  Rev.  John,  2. 
"Rocks,  The,"  way  to,  81. 
Rocky  Hill,  72. 
Rogers,  John,  29. 
Roper,  Ephraira,  82. 
Ross,  Daniel,  134. 

Russell,  James,  owns  Iron  Works,  136. 
Rutter,  Jabesh,  112. 


Sampson,  ho. 

Saw-mills,  22,  95. 

Schools  and  school-houses,  128-133. 

School-master,  want  of,  129. 

School-house  lot,  131. 

Scotchford,  John,  73;  his  house-lot,  88. 

Lane,  128. 
Scotland,  81. 

Scudder,  H.  E.,  quoted,  27. 

Selectmen,   instructions  to,   19,  20;  their  povrers  and  duties,  20;  to 
impose  fines,  76;  to  superintend  erection  of  fortifications,  123; 
their  return  of  non-freemen,  146. 
Settlers,  early,  character  of,  2,  46-48;  their  former  homes,  3;  journey 
to  Musketaquid,  3,  4;  hardships  suffered,  33-41;  their  educa- 
tional attainments,  132. 
Sewall,  Samuel,  150. 
Shamberry,  Joseph,  60,  61. 

Shattuck,  Lemuel,  his  History,  7;  his  papers,  6,  28,  43. 
Shawshine,   grant  to,   51;    River,    8,   9;    Corner,   10,    68,   81;    road 

to,  137. 
Sheep,  &c.,  damage  by,  19. 
Shepard,  Abraham,  106,  107. 

Isaac,  killed  by  Indians,  105-107,  112;  his  estate,  107. 

Jacob,  106,  107. 

John,  53,  146. 

Mary,  captured  by  Indians,  106,  107,  112,  116. 

Ralph,  buys  Nashoba  Farm,  55. 
Short  Swamp,  73. 
Skinner,  Thomas,  82. 


INDEX.  169 


Smedly,  Baptist,  his  dwelling-place,  88;  his  daughter,  107;  his  death 
and  estate,  112. 
James,  144,  146;  his  house-lot,  87. 

John,  26,  40,  64,  144;  on  committee  to  divide  highways,  &c.,  70; 
overseer,  76 ;  his  house-lot,  88 ;  on  committee  to  build  meeting- 
house, 91 ;  released  from  training,  121 ;  his  report  about  schools, 
129. 
Samuel,  killed  by  Indians,  112;  his  estate,  ib. 

Soldiers,  impressment  of,  124.     (See  Military.) 

Solomon  Thomas,  59,  60. 

South  Field,  67. 

Eiver,  73;  bridge  over,  69,  74;  road  to,  88. 

Speen,  John  and  Sarah,  57,  58. 
James  and  Elizabeth,  57,  58. 

Spelling,  iiregular  habits  of,  132. 

Spencer,  William,  14,  15;  his  land  in  Concord,  15. 

Spencer  Brook,  15,  86,  95. 

Squaw  Sachem,  13-16. 

Squaws,  escape  of,  118. 

Stannup,  Hannah,  144. 

Stockadoes,  line  of,  ordered,  114. 

Stocks,  117. 

Stoughton,  Gov.  William,  90. 

Stow,  Nathaniel,  146;  his  house-lot,  86. 
Thomas,  70;  his  second  division,  82. 

Stow,  town  of,  57,  59. 

Subsidy-men,  departure  of,  forbidden,  2. 

Sudbury,  50,  57,  113;  line  of,  10;  ways,  75,  79;  meeting-house,  98; 
petition  about  meadows,  34 ;  removal  from,  forbidden,  40 ;  fight 
at,  with  Indians,  85,  105. 

Swamp  Bridge,  79. 

Swanscombe,  47,  48. 

Swine,  damage  by,  19 ;  how  herded,  103 ;  how  marked  and  sold,  104. 

TaHATOWAN,  13-16. 

John,  53. 
Tally,  Thomas,  banished,  142. 
Tar-kiln  Brook,  137. 
Tasattawan,  59. 
Tasunsquaw,  58,  60. 
Taylor,  Abraham,  9,  147. 

John,  124. 

William,  his  house-lot,  87. 
Taxes.     (See  Rates.) 


170  INDEX. 


Temple,  Abraham,  105,  124,  146. 

Isaac,  146. 

Richard,  15,  146;  his  dwelling-place,  85;  builds  saw-mill,  95. 
Thomas,  John,  53,  58,  60. 

Solomon,  59,  CO. 
Titles,  significance  of,  27. 
Tompkins,  John,  35. 
Townsmen,  19,  69.     (See  Selectmen.) 

Town,  officers  of,  19;  clerk,  21;  bell,  92;  house,  93;  cow,  26,  133,  134; 
pound,  93;  watch-house,  117;  mill,  94-97;  meadow,  67,  68,  72; 
record  books,  84;  meetings,  92;  library,  128. 
Training-field,  92. 
Training-place,  71,  75. 
Transcripts  of  lands,  84. 
Troop  of  horse,  108,  122. 
Turney,  Benjamin,  35. 
Twenty  score,  83. 


U  SHER,   Herman   and  Hezekiah,  engage  in  mining  operations  at 
Fairhaven,  137. 

YaNE,  Gov.  Henry,  23. 
Virginia,  81. 

WaBAN,  14,  15,  58. 

Thomas,  59,  60. 
Wabatut,  53. 

Walden  Pond,  12,  72,  79,  80. 
Walling,  H.  F.,  his  maps  of  county  and  town,  7. 
Wamesit,  57. 
Wappacowet,  15. 
Waste  water.  The,  92. 
Watch-house,  situation  of,  117. 
Watertown,  3,  50,  114;  controversy  with,  about  bounds,  12;  bounds 

of,  32;  road,  79,  80;  corner,  81;  company,  105. 
Wayland,  line  of,  10. 
Ways,  private,  81.     (See  Highways.) 
Webb,  Cowet,  16. 
Weston,  bounds  of,  32. 
Wheat,  John,  125. 

Moses,  29 ;  his  house-lot,  86. 

Samuel,  147. 


INDEX.  171 


Wheeler,  Ephraim,  35,  38. 
Ensign,  70,  71,  73. 

George,  28,  40,  52,  66,  73,  78;  selectman,  139;  on  committee  to 
divide  highways,  &c.,  70;  overseer,  76;  his  house-lot,  87;  joint- 
owner  with  Capt.  Timothy,  89;  sells  land  to  Prescott,  98. 
John,  124,  146, 147;  constable,  63;  his  house-lot,  87  ;  sergeant,  99.  j 
Joseph,  28,  40,  52,  53,  90,  124;  grant  to,  55;  his  house-lot,  87;  on 

committee  to  build  meeting-house,  91. 
Joshua,  79,  146;  his  house-lot,  87. 
Josiah,  killed  by  Indians,  105. 
Obadiah,  73,  146;  his  dwelling-place,  75,  85. 
Samuel,  Jr.,  58. 
Sergeant,  68. 

Thomas,  Senior,  his  house-lot,  86. 
Thomas,  20,  28,  35;  selectman,  146, 152;  petitioner,  38,  49;  Junior, 

38,  110,  113. 
Capt.  Thomas,  125;  takes  lease  from  town,  19,  55,  56,  103;  com- 
mands troop,  122;  his  "Narrative,"  108;  accompanies  Capt. 
Hutchinson,   108-113;  his  certificate  to  the  Indians,  110;  his 
return  celebrated,  113. 
Timothy,  147;  petitioner,  38,  40,  52,  78;  overseer,  76. 
Capt.  Timothy,  26:  his  house,  14;  his  estate,  89;  negotiates  with 
Indians,  57,  59;  on  committee  to  build  meeting-house,  91;  keeps 
mill,  95;  authorized  to  impress  gunsmith,  114;  captain  of  foot 
company,  122,  125;  his  return  of  soldiers  impressed,  124,  125; 
his  gift  to  the  town,  129,  131. 
Rebecca,  90. 
William,  6,  73. 
Wiggin,  John  and  Mary,  90. 
Wigly,  Edmund,  his  dwelling-place,  85. 

Willard,  Simon,  28,  73;  founder  of  Concord,  1;  his  English  home,  3; 
trades  with  Indians,  ib.,  17;  lays  out  the  township,  5,  12,  17; 
commands  foot  company,  120,  122 ;  conducts  negotiations  with 
Indians  about  lands,  14,  15,  61;  on  valuing  committee,  37; 
excused  from  attendance  on  court,  41;  his  removal  to  Lan- 
caster, ib. ;  commissioner,  45;  his  character  and  services,  43,  44; 
his  farms,  51,  59,  65,  66,  136;  assists  Indians,  101,  115;  on 
highway  committee,  70;  on  committee  to  settle  mill  dispute, 
97;  relieves  Wheeler  at  Brookfield,  112. 
Winnetow,  Dorothy,  57,  58. 
Winnippin,  62. 

Winthrop,  Gov.  John,  23 ;  his  farm,  61. 
Woburn  Corner,  10. 

Road,  80. 
Wompachowet,  14. 


172  INDEX. 


Wood,  Abraham,  146. 

Ephraiin,  surveys  town,  7. 

John,  124,  146. 

Michael,  71,  74;  his  dwelling-place,  85;  clerk  of  the  Iron  Works, 
140. 

William,  3,  37,  40,  73. 
Woodis,  Henry,  14,  26,  57,  59,  64,  70,  78,  122;  his  second  division,  82; 

his  dwelling-place,  85. 
Woodis's  Rock,  83. 
Woolley,  Christopher,  89 ;  his  dwelling-place,  87. 

Joseph,  60. 

Thomas,  125. 
Wormwood,  Joseph,  136. 

Wright,  Edward,  89,  143;  his  house-lot,  86;  exchanges  land  with  Hoar, 
89;  of  Castle  Browmick,  90;  builds  saw-mill,  95. 

Francis,  90. 

Peter,  his  marriage  contract,  143;  his  gift  to  the  town,  ib. 

Samuel,  136,  143. 


Young,  Henry,  killed  by  Indians,  113. 


■University  Press :  John  Wilson  &  Son,  Cambridge. 


